SW: From the Ashes 1: Détentes End
by Jedi Carpet
Summary: Star Wars AU - Dark Nest and Legacy never happened. Five years after the Yuuzhan Vong War ended, the Jedi find themselves losing their way, and a wayward Jedi Knight returns with warnings of a deadly new enemy. Jacen, Luke, Jaina, other Jedi, OCs.
1. Prologue

SW From the Ashes: Détente's End

Authors Notes

Summary: Star Wars AU - Dark Nest and Legacy never happened. Five years after the Yuuzhan Vong War ended, the Jedi find themselves losing their way, and a wayward Jedi Knight returns with warnings of a deadly new enemy.

Background: Unsatisfied with the way the series progressed after the Vong war, I set to write how I thought it should have been written. This is the first of a trillogy, two of which I have complete at this time. I will be publishing the first five chapters this week, then I will publish each chapter on the Sunday night or Monday morning (or Tuesday, depending on holiday scheduling) at the beginning of each week until it is all done or I run out of material to publish.

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars and make no claims to. It is George Lucas' sandbox, not mine. I am not being paid for this, and is purely for everyone's enjoyment, mostly my own.

Prologue

Blackness surrounds him.

Out of the black appears a figure, just as dark as the blackness itself. It has no face. No shape. No form. But it has a presence. That presence is pain. Suffering. Torment. It that appears out of nowhere will break the one who sees it.

The one who sees him knows this. It is unavoidable. It is _destiny_.

The Seer tries to run away, but the ground does not let him. It breaks and falls into the black. As the ground falls, The Seer watches it fall, helpless to stop it. Not it.

Them.

The ground is made of faces. Family, friends, co-workers, opponents... All of them, falling into the black below, until he stands on one alone. A face he cannot recognize but is as familiar to him as his own. Helplessness becomes despair as the figure of black, now a monster larger than life, grabs The Seer, trapping him fast. The Seer can not escape. He can not call for help. He can not even look into the eyes of the black monster to see who will create The Seer's own personal hell.

He can only wake.

"Luke?" A female voice wakes The Seer. "Luke! What's going on? Wake up!"

"I...I don't know." Jedi Master Luke Skywalker responded. Panting heavily, he found he could not move, but was able to pull himself up in bed and wave a light on at his bedside. Finally, he noticed his legs were entangled in his bed sheet. "I think I was having a vision."

"A vision?" Mara Jade asked, sitting up to look at him, using a hand to block the light from her squinting eyes. "Of what? The Anchorhead Marathon?"

Luke leaned forward, putting his palms to his eyes as if to keep the images slipping out of in his mind there longer. "Darkness...everything falling...no, everyone...an enemy. It happened so fast, I can barely remember."

"Old enemy, or new?" Mara asked, glancing at Luke's bedside chronometer. _Three in the morning? Why can't the Force be more considerate?_

"Yes." Luke said. "I know, it sounds stupid, but...yes."

"Did you get a good look at him?"

"No." Luke said. Abandoning any attempt to remember the vision any further, Luke began to unravel the sheet from his legs. "I don't think he had a face. At least, not to me."

"Oh." Mara said around a yawn. "Did he attack you in bed?"

"No."

"Then can it wait till morning?" Mara asked, flopping back onto her pillow without waiting for an answer.

-! #$%^&*()

Gareth Gisll saw her from a distance through the massive crowd of people, but was struck by her beauty from his first far off glance. Neither her long flowing blonde hair or the loose jacket could hide the attractive curves of her body that were well hugged by the dark tight-fitting pants and top she wore. Even on Telos, the Coruscant of the outer rim, she appeared to be quite well off between her well-cared-for appearance and expensive looking clothes. And well off people usually carried lots of credits.

"Yo." Gareth called to his Devaronian buddy, Dlasa. "Got us a mark."

Dlasa glanced in the direction of Gareth's line of sight and sighed. Gareth grinned, knowing exactly what his friend was thinking.

"Yeah, she's hot," Gareth admitted, "But that's just an added bonus. She's gotta be loaded."

Dlasa looked again and re-evaluated her appearance. She walked with a brisk pace, weary about her steps, quickly taking in the appearance of people around her as she skirted past them. She projected a look of confidence, but was definitely cautious. That only meant one thing on the streets of Telos.

"She's carrying something valuable." Dlasa agreed.

"Let's move."

The duo slipped away from their vantage point and made their way toward their target as she threaded her way through the crowd into the high speed public transit terminal. She paused to talk to an agitated Ithorian attendant, handed him some credits, and disappeared behind a corner in the direction of a little used tram traveling away from the city centre.

"Perfect, she's taking the Argrath line." Gareth gestured with his chin, passing his ID through the card reader and following her. Dlasa walked ahead of Gareth, as one or the other usually did, and took a wider path in the same direction to attract less attention.

Gareth turned the corner and saw her chatting on a comlink as her hair disappeared down a flight of stairs. He quickened his pace, as did Dlasa, and took note that the next tram would not arrive for four minutes – just enough time to complete their 'transaction.' They arrived at the platform, Gareth just before Dlasa, and Gareth noticed the platform was deserted, save the blonde. She was standing in the middle of the platform looking impatiently around as if searching for something.

"Lose something?" Gareth asked the woman. She turned around quickly, eyes wide with surprise. Now that he saw her up close, he estimated her to be in her late twenties and in exceptional shape. Dlasa walked past them and stopped about three metres away, pretending to wait for the tram.

"Oh, just Astro." She responded and smiled broadly. "A friend of mine. Always getting lost, that one."

"Maybe I could be your friend instead." Gareth said with a smile. "You look like you could use some company."

Gareth saw a wall go up as her eyes hardened and her smile disappeared.

"Sorry, I'm not that desperate." She responded sarcastically. "Although Astro might like to have you for dinner, if you catch my meaning."

Dlasa grabbed her from behind, trapping her by her elbows and holding her against him, effectively restraining her arms. She did not make a gasp of surprise, nor an effort to struggle as Gareth pulled a vibro-shiv and held the blade to her neck.

"I think you would enjoy my company more than your friend." Gareth said, licking his lips.

"I think you should let go of me before you get hurt." The blonde responded. "I have some friends who would not like it if bad things were to happen to me."

"Well, what they don't know won't hurt them." Gareth smiled. He reached for her jacket, and pulled it open to look for whatever thing of value she was carrying.

His face immediately went white.

"What is it?" Dlasa asked.

Gareth pulled a lightsaber out of her jacket from its spot hanging from the inside near the bottom of the left sleeve. "Think you're some kind of Jedi?" He asked.

"I got it from a local trader." She responded, realizing they were after money. "Cost me a few thousand. Yours, if you kriff off and let me go."

Gareth grinned a predator's grin. "Credits and time with a pretty lady? I think I'll take both." He reached towards her chest when a sudden violent pain between his legs caused him to collapse into a foetal position. He heard Dlasa cry out in pain, and several painful noises later he looked up and saw his friend receiving a beating while trying to keep up with her unexpected assault. Gareth watched as she ducked under a clumsy attack from Dlasa, bobbed up with a counter to his jaw that he barely dodged, and several confused moments later Gareth finally realized he was holding a vibro-shiv. He tried to ignore the swelling pain in his groin as the tram sped into the station and focused on standing up. Finally standing, he reactivated the vibro-shiv and set after her. He saw her turn to face him off a side kick that sent a winded Dlasa tumbling, and charged at her, arm held high planning to cut her head to toe.

He instantly regretted it.

She stepped close to him faster than he thought possible, jamming his arm high with a block to his elbow with one forearm as she palm heeled his nose with the other and followed with a smashing elbow to the left side of his face. He felt some teeth collapse in from the impact while others shattered as the vibro-shiv slipped from his hand and clattered to the floor. The blonde jump-spin back kicked him in the chest with enough force to send Gareth off his feet and land painfully on his back atop a very hard cylinder – her lightsaber. The tram came to a complete stop as a large beast came out of nowhere and tackled Dlasa, preventing him from taking pot shots at the blonde with the blaster he had just pulled. The blaster appeared in her hand somehow, and she threw it far down the platform out of reach when Gareth activated the lightsaber with its distinctive snap-hiss.

Gareth thought maybe his hearing was damaged along with his jaw because he heard another snap-hiss beside him.

"You don't want to do that." A voice said beside him. Gareth looked at where the voice came from, and saw a lightsaber blade connected to the arm the body of that the voice belonged to.

A very distinctive, very famous face appeared on that body that held the lightsaber.

"Jacen Solo?" Gareth asked in shock, all the blood draining from his face for the second time. He must have been hit harder than he thought. Jacen Solo disappeared five years ago. He did not exist in the known universe anymore. Everyone knew his face from the holovids during the war, but he disappeared years ago. But here he was, holding a lightsaber to Gareth's neck. Gareth swayed on his feet as he felt the lightsaber in his hand yank itself away and saw the blonde replace the hilt in her jacket. His mind went foggier as he saw the creature pinning Dlasa…

_Is that a_ Vornskr_?_ Gareth could hardly believe his eyes. The vicious-looking predator animal was growling softly as it lay on top of the Devaronian, effectively pinning him to the ground with both weight and fear.

"Dinner is served, Astro." The blonde called out.

The Vornskr grunted back as if it were speaking to her, and licked Dlasa's face playfully.

_Is this for real?_ Gareth asked himself.

"Yes, it is real." The hallucination that was Jacen Solo said.

_Jacen Solo is reading my thoughts._ Gareth thought stupidly.

"We both are, as pitiful as your thoughts are. I suggest you leave." The blonde approached him with a vicious look on her face and grabbed his jacket. "Now."

Gareth did not remember her letting go of him, how he climbed the stairs in two bounds, knocking over the Ithorian attendant, or the dozen people he ran into. A block down the road he found himself sprinting faster than he ever had in his life, stopping only to pant for air and spit out some teeth when he could no longer stand. Everyone seemed to be giving him a wide berth because of his broken appearance as he lay semi-conscious on the flagstones. Several minutes later, or maybe an hour later, for time no longer seemed to exist for Gareth, Dlasa appeared.

"They let me off." He explained, looking as agitated as Gareth felt while pulling the human to his feet. "But she had something valuable. Showed that guy some weird device. He looked at it like it was a corusca gem and they left with the Vornskr on the tram."

" 'on't care," Gareth said, holding his mangled jaw and still panting hard. " 'Eez mo twoubble dan she wurf."

-! #$%^&*()

"It's probably not a good idea to activate that here."

Jacen broke his gaze away from the object to look at his companion and nodded. A sudden jolt of tram almost made him drop it, so he quickly put it in his inner jacket pocket and sealed it shut. He took a seat opposite her, and the Vornskr rested his head on Jacen's lap. He absently scratched the canine's ear as he spoke to his friend.

"Was it hard to find?"

"Not really." She said. "Once I got past the guards and the security system and into the lower levels it was just a matter of avoiding rakghouls to infiltrate the..."

"I didn't want a play-by-play..."

"Fine." She rolled her eyes. "I was just getting to the good part. I eventually found the abandoned Jedi Academy in the polar region. It looked like it was used by the Sith a hundred years ago, but hadn't been occupied since. It was just lying there in a big circular room waiting to be found. The hardest part was not freezing my butt off. Whose idea was it to wear this stupid outfit?"

"You did use the heating techniques I taught you, didn't you?" Jacen asked. "And if I remember correctly, you're the one who buys your wardrobe, not me. Speaking of stupid, who were your new boyfriends?"

"Cute." She scolded. "Thanks for the save, but I didn't need it."

Jacen nodded thoughtfully. He knew when to stop bugging her - he had the bruises to prove it. "Good work finding it. I'm sure we have the largest collection of them by now."

"How many more do you need?" She asked. "I mean, you have Bane's, Nadd's, Nomi's, Sidious', Vos', and now this one."

"I think this one is the last one we'll need." Jacen said. "If I'm right, it has all the big players. Palpatine, Plagueis, Bane, Ajunta Pall, Exar Kun, and Naga Sadow, to name a few. I'll check with the others, but I think we have all of the ones on the checklist."

"What's so special about these ones? I mean, isn't one as good as the next?"

"I think these are the ones that talk about using Sith magic." Jacen theorized. "Some talk about it, like Nomi's, but these ones explain how to use it."

"I see. Do you think we can learn more from this one than the others?"

"Yeah," Jacen grinned and pointed to his jacket pocket. "Palpatine was said to be the best at hiding himself, and some of these guys practically invented most Sith magic."

"Do you think they'll let us learn all this stuff?" She asked sceptically. "I mean, if this is the mother ship…"

"Some stuff will obviously be out of our skill set need." Jacen said. "But others could be quite useful. I suspect most Sith Magic derives from techniques we've already learned from our journey."

The tram finally started to slow its speed, indicating it was reaching the spaceport.

"We'll contact them as soon as we're in hyperspace." Jacen said. "Hopefully we'll have a better picture of why they sent us after these things when they already know everything inside them."

The tram came to a complete stop at a station a five minute walk from the spaceport.

"Let's hurry up and get off this planet." She said. "I want to get back to the ship before Womprat welds my door shut or something."


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

_Time, it is._

With three simple words, a Knight became a Master, and a vagabond travelled home.

-! #$%^&*()

In a field of tall grass, children played. Nobody quite knew what they played, but they played nonetheless. One would pass a ball to another, who would jump over the ball, who would be pulled down by yet another. Others would run in circles around those playing with the ball chasing each other, only to reach their prey, and become preyed upon. Sometimes one would switch to chasing from throwing the ball, and others would join in completely different games. While the hundred children all played within a quarter of a square kilometre, none got hurt, all had fun, and all trained in the Force.

Jedi Master Jaina Solo watched the children playing, and her two Jedi Apprentices, Nelani Dinn and Karth Grans, offered their services as referees. Jaina wondered a great many things in moments like these. Ever since the end of the Yuuzhan Vong War, she had tried to regain her humanity by becoming more involved with the Jedi Order, and less a crack X-wing pilot. While aiding in the initial recovery efforts the galaxy was going through, Jaina found herself lacking in focus and concentration because of the horrors she had yet to recover from. A short break at the Jedi Academy on Ossus, helping the Jedi younglings through teaching them, had helped her realize how much of herself she had lost during the war. Sometimes, in moments like these, she continued to ponder her humanity, often wondering how she had survived with such disconnect to the Force, and how far she had really come from the war-hardened hero she was five years ago.

Whatever her own concerns about herself were, Grand Master Luke Skywalker and the other Jedi of the Council were satisfied enough with her progress to ask her to shed her status as a Jedi Knight, and join their ranks of the Jedi Masters one week ago. She became a full time instructor at the Jedi Academy here on Ossus, teaching advanced starfighter tactics and whatever she could with the youngest of the children when her duties permitted. She had grown to enjoy teaching, and through giving she had come to heal her long-open wounds.

However, none of this was on her mind today. Today she was trying to unravel the truth about the training exercise Tionne had ordered: Was it for the children, or for the supervising apprentices? Both seemed to be exhausting each other at a remarkable pace.

Jaina's thoughts were interrupted at the sudden appearance of large raindrops, which signalled the end of the lesson. She whistled loudly to stop the activity, causing a collective groan of disappointment to erupt from the Jedi younglings and create an equally emotional sigh of relief from the Jedi Apprentices. Both reactions brought a smile to Jaina's face.

_Wow. Five years ago, I don't think I even knew how to smile. I_ must _be growing up._

"All right all you younglings," Jaina called out with a grin as the raindrops multiplied exponentially. "Everyone back to the dorms! And do _not_ let anyone stay behind this time! You know how the trees like to eat little Jedi around here."

Jaina winked to some of the older students, who began to shepherd the younger students together and towards the Jedi Academy a distant kilometre away. Jaina had no fear of the children coming under any harm on Ossus as virtually all the Jedi's enemies had been wiped out during the Vong war, and none were powerful – or stupid – enough to try attacking the Jedi on one of their stronghold planets. If the mystery and strength of the Jedi powers and the full Jedi Council who had yet to be relocated to Coruscant were not enough of a deterrent, the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances fleet in orbit generally did the trick.

Nelani and Karth approached Jaina with big smiles on their faces as the rain began to pour. Jaina was still adjusting to life as a Master within the Jedi Order, and having advanced students depending solely on her for her education was somewhat troubling.

Karth, a short Deveronian, was seventeen. He had spent the majority of the Vong war in hiding on the_ Errant Venture _with the rest of the Jedi Academy after it was rescued from Yavin IV. Far too young to fight, he had spent the war learning the Jedi ways from Tionne, a Jedi Master with far more knowledge in the Force than potential, but as true a Jedi as any. In the years since the war, he completed his term as a student, and was ready to become an apprentice at the same time Jaina was ready to take one on. They quickly started working well together, and had learned much from each other.

Nelani, a tall human female, was the complete opposite of Karth in almost every respect. A tall willowy twenty year old, her history was as unknown to Jaina as how she had arrived on Ossus. Normally a Jedi would be, at the latest, preparing for the trials of Knighthood by this age, but she was relatively new to the Force. Jaina suspected Master Skywalker knew more of her past, but that did not mean she needed to know. Nelani took to her training as seriously as anyone, almost to keep too busy to discuss her past. Whatever her reasons, her progress was unmistakable. Jaina also sensed Nelani was hiding something from her on more of a personal level, but chose to ignore it. Jedi Masters knew better.

"Well?" Jaina asked. "Any of them have to be sent to the farms?"

Before either of the Apprentices could respond, the distinctive humming sound of a lightsaber caused her to whirl around. None of the younglings should have a lightsaber…and none did. A caped figure with a hood pulled low over its face against the increasing rain storm held a humming violet lightsaber in its right hand, blade held backwards pointing up behind his head. He stalked through the children as if they were not even worth acknowledging, directly towards Jaina and her apprentices. The children parted ways for the ominous character, almost as if his aura had pushed them aside. Jaina reached out with the Force, but only her eyes and ears told her this person was there. She drew her lightsaber and held it in a ready stance, igniting her own violet blade. A similar sound behind her told her one of her Apprentices had drawn their blade, but what happened next could not have shocked her more.

"Darth Harla!" Nelani called out, rushing towards the figure, with her arms outstretched. The caped figure, now five metres from Jaina and Karth, embraced Nelani with the lightsaber still on. In the process, the hood fell to reveal the Sith Lord who had disrupted Jaina's students – Jacen Solo.

-! #$%^&*()

At one of the highest points of the Jedi Academy on Ossus, Luke Skywalker gazed out of his office window using his vantage point to look over the Jedi Order. His Jedi Order. The one he built over the last twenty-five years out of the ashes of two failed governments. The one he led through what seemed like a couple galaxies worth of efforts to stop him.

His first years, being the only Jedi in the galaxy attempting to train others, were troublesome. The years that followed presented new difficulties that always kept him busy. As the Order grew, Luke's interaction with his Jedi diminished as his students taught new students, who then taught more students. Then the Yuuzhan Vong came, and nearly destroyed much of what Luke had built. Four years of attacks from the extra-galactic Yuuzhan Vong, traitors to the galaxy, and even former allies of the Jedi had left the Jedi Order diminished to barely a hundred members. But a strong group they were, hardened by the war that destroyed so much and had killed so many. After the war Luke started to rebuild again and implemented new philosophies into his teachings from the lessons they learned during the war. Luckily for Luke, he was not alone this time. Through the valiant efforts of the remaining Jedi, they had developed a solid team with thirty Masters, over a hundred Knights, and a couple hundred Apprentices and Trainees.

Even the full Jedi Council was reinstated, having dispensed with the half-council that had been adopted during the Yuuzhan Vong War. Through an ingenious plan of Talon Karrde's, the Jedi Order found itself financially secure, and had finally broken free of any interference from the galactic governments. As small as they were in numbers, the Jedi had still become a strong voice in the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances and had gained its independence. Finally the Jedi were able to operate as the guardians of the galaxy they were meant to be, reporting directly to each of the governing bodies that made up the Galactic Alliance with equal accountability and devotion to each member.

Thanks to the efforts of Leia Organa Solo, the Jedi gained the political support needed to gain custody of Ossus. A planet rich in Jedi history, Ossus had become the home of the Jedi nation. Both the Jedi Academy and the operations of the Order were housed in the sprawling campus that had been built during the past five years. However, that was soon to change.

As Luke's thoughts floated around his head, his vision from a week ago came back into focus. He had spent much time over the last week meditating on the disturbing images he saw, but seeing the Order fall from under him still startled him in more ways than he was willing to admit, even to himself. He had worked his hardest, and had sacrificed much. He also lost good students, friends, and even family members in building the New Jedi Order. The dark man worried Luke, for if one person could destroy the entire Order…

A loud knock startled Luke out of his thoughts, making him realize he was staring at an unfamiliar YT-2400 at one of the docking bays.

"Yes, come in." Luke said. He turned to face the door and pushed the freighter out of his mind.

Kyp Durron entered the room, projecting an aura of confidence and wearing a huge grin. "Master Skywalker, the Jedi Temple looks great! Wait until you see some of the toys they've installed in there for us!"

Luke could not help but smile at Kyp's enthusiasm. "I'm glad you had an enjoyable trip to Coruscant."

"Well, the trip wasn't so great being stuck in an X-Wing the whole way there and back." Kyp said, plopping himself onto one of the chairs in front of Luke's desk and leaning back on it. "But Coruscant looks amazing! I bet it hasn't looked this good since a hundred years before Palpatine was corrupting the galaxy. It's quite remarkable how much they've done since the planet was levelled five years ago. They've gone for a more traditional 'City of Spires' look, too, and they're implementing height restrictions of one kilometre to keep it from growing out of hand like last time. Estimates say over ninety percent of the residential, commercial, and industrial areas are rebuilt."

"And all of the government sectors, obviously." Luke said bitterly as he took his own seat. "How are the plans for the move to our new home proceeding?"

"Well, those bantha lovers haven't actually completed the temple docking bay, so if we go any time soon we'll have to land at the spaceport and trek everything over." Kyp said. "I told them it was unacceptable and that they better get it ready by the scheduled moving day. Took a bit of… _persuasion_, but I think they got the message. Apparently they were under the impression we would allow ourselves to be affected by the material shortages, especially when the entire planet is being recycled."

Luke did not want to know what Kyp meant by 'persuasion,' but he had a good idea. Kyp's anger had shown through quite a bit in the last five years. While the Jedi should normally control emotions, Luke's nephew, Jacen Solo, had discovered that emotions unlocked much more power for a Force user. Luke had decided five years ago that the Jedi were too few, too small to ignore a valuable insight into the Force that could help them survive, and adopted what Jacen had learned into his own program as a Master's lesson. Kyp seemed to enjoy that particular policy change. Too much at times.

"On the plus side, the dorms, training areas, and pretty much everything except the docking bay and Council chambers are ready. We should be good to go as soon as the hangers are done."

"What about transit arrangements?" Luke asked, updating some information on a datapad.

"Uhhh, transit?" Kyp dropped the chair to all four legs and sat up straight. "I thought we were taking the _Falcon, _the _Shadow_ and the various support craft."

"Kyp, how many people can the _Falcon_ hold for that long a trip?"

"Twenty or so."

"How many Jedi and how much equipment is on Ossus?"

"Oh." Kyp looked dismayed. "I…I'll…umm…"

"Contact Booster." Luke supplied.

"Yeah, gotcha." Kyp said. "Umm…on second thought, I'll get Corran to do that."

"I thought you liked Corran." Luke said with a grin.

"Not as much as I like myself!" Kyp replied with a bigger grin. He leapt out of the chair and made his way to the door. "I'll let the fleet in orbit know he's coming."

Luke laughed softly. "Don't worry; they have standing orders not to shoot anything red the size of a Star Destroyer."

"True." Kyp said, unconvinced. "But you know those military types; you can never be too sure with them. I'll let them know anyway." Kyp left the room without another word.

"I was one of those military types." Luke said nostalgically to the empty room, thinking back to the days of Rogue Squadron…


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Here I thought Jedi Knights could control their excitement." Jacen said to his sister, releasing Nelani from his embrace, lightsaber still humming. "Or did you not get my last life day present?"

"If I knew you were a Sith, I wouldn't have kept it." Jaina shot back. To her continued surprise, Jacen and Nelani broke out laughing.

"Jacen's not a Sith." Nelani giggled with an arm still around Jacen. "He just plays one on the Holonet. And does it well, I must add." Admiration glowed in her eyes as she looked up at him, but Jacen did not notice.

"So why's the lightsaber on, Not-Darth Jacen?" Jaina inquired sarcastically.

"Oh." Jacen said, slightly embarrassed. "Sorry about that. I can't turn it off. It's been stuck on for the last half-hour since it fell off my belt during re-entry. Almost took out the entire navicomputer. And the blade was green yesterday, too."

He held the offending violet lightsaber towards his sister, leaving Nelani behind. "Think you can fix it for me? Eriana and Womprat couldn't figure out what's wrong with it. I'll warn you, the design is quite unique."

Sighing, Jaina returned her lightsaber to her belt, and took Jacen's. She reached out with her mind to examine the structure of the weapon, and found she could not recognise any of the major components. The crystal alone was familiar to her. "This might take a while. But, in the mean time." She tossed the lightsaber to Nelani, and came forward to hug her last remaining brother, squeezing him tight for a minute and enjoying the fact that he was back. A moment later, she stepped back and elbowed him hard in the ribs.

He barely flinched. "What was that for?"

"Playing Sith." Jaina said putting her arm around her brother, and leading him back to the Academy. Her students had already gone, not wanting to hang around in the rain, and the apprentices hung back to give the siblings some privacy.

"By the way, it's 'Master' to you now, Jedi Solo." Jaina said, playing up the friendly sibling rivalry.

"On whose authority?" Jacen asked, more amused than jealous.

"The Jedi Council." Jaina replied, oblivious to his amusement. While they shared a strong bond for most of their life and were unable to hide anything from each other, Jacen had since developed an ability to hide himself in their bond. She was trying to find his emotions in the bond, but failed to notice his grin.

"Ah." Jacen replied, looking down at his shorter sister. "Well, _Master_ Solo, could your little brother buy you a congratulatory lunch?"

Jaina rolled her eyes. Food was prepared for all Jedi on Ossus for no individual cost. "No, but you can carry my tray."

"You drive a hard bargain, _Master _Solo."

-! #$%^&*()

The _Jade Shadow_ sliced into the Pararian asteroid field without hesitation, a task most sentients would label as incredibly brave or incredibly stupid. The asteroid field was unique among its kind as virtually everyone avoided it, even pirates and smugglers. Within the centre of the field was a bright violet and blue nebula that blocked all forms of sensors due to extremely high concentrations of magnesium and chromium. Most sentients agreed that the combination of asteroids and blinded sensors made navigating the nebula foolish at best. Given that it could be reached by a short half-hour jump in hyperspace from Ossus and that everyone avoided it, the Jedi, fools in their own right, decided that such a location was perfect for pilot training.

Or for Jedi moms to try forcing their kid to use the Force.

Ben Skywalker, the red-headed result of Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker's marriage, sat in the navigator seat of the _Jade Shadow_ beside his mom with a scowl on his face. As Force sensitive as anyone living at the Jedi Academy, Ben was unique among his peers in that he outright refused to use the Force. During the Yuuzhan Vong war Ben had been exposed to several situations that shook most Jedi Masters, and had instinctively learned to draw himself away from the Force as a natural defence. At eight years old, that defence had developed into instinct and he had learned to hide himself as effectively as the best Jedi Masters, if not more so – a fact that made Mara both envious and proud.

"We're not going in the nebula." Mara said, reading Ben's scowl correctly.

"Then why are we out here?" Ben pouted.

"Just because you're being stubborn about the Force, it doesn't mean you can't learn something useful." Mara explained patiently. "Now be a good little Skywalker and make some asteroids smaller."

A happy chirping sound came from Artoo-Detoo behind Ben, urging him to use the upgraded sensor suite he developed.

"Not so fast, you two." Mara protested, switching off the master power to the targeting computer. "You get to use your eyes for this one."

"What?" Ben complained. "You're just trying to get me to use the Force again!"

Mara glared at him for a moment, slightly annoyed that he saw through her plan, and transferred weapon controls to her stick. She quickly shot five asteroids, spitting metal in every direction, and guided the ship deftly around the shards.

"Did you sense me using the Force?" Mara asked, knowing full well he could sense disturbances around him.

"No." Ben said quietly.

"It doesn't take the Force to do everything, Ben." Mara explained patiently. "What if your targeting computer gets damaged? You have to learn how to use your eyes as much as anything else."

Unable to argue with her logic, Ben reluctantly took over the firing controls and started picking targets. At first he missed his targets wildly as he got used to the controls, but soon was aiming well enough to take sizable chunks out of the larger asteroids. And to Mara's chagrin, he never touched the Force.

"Twin Suns One to _Jade Shadow_, please respond." A youthful voice came across the comm. as Mara guided the Shadow through another lazy turn around a larger asteroid. Mara recognized the voice as the leader of Jaina's hand-picked team of pilots from her advanced starfighter tactics class, Jorvan Chetlog. Her squadron from the war was recommissioned as an elite starfighter training group that would train students to become part of the Jedi starfighter corps.

"Oh, no." Ben moaned. "Not them."

"What is it?" Mara asked.

"They don't like me." Ben pouted again.

Mara opened a comm channel. "Twin Suns One, this is _Jade Shadow_, what can I do for you Jorvan?"

"Master Skywalker," Jorvan responded. "We would like to join the training zone and head directly into the nebula."

"Acknowledged, proceed." Mara responded. "No others are in the training field."

"Thank you, _Shadow_." After a few incidents in the asteroid field, protocol was established dictating that anyone inside the training field had the right to use the field, and dictate protocol to anyone wishing to enter. The longest in the field had superiority over all others.

"Ok, Ben, take over." Mara transferred the controls to Ben, and slipped out of the pilot's seat. "Make sure he doesn't hit anything, Artoo."

Mara left the cockpit to get a cup of caf, and Ben found himself piloting his mom's ship for the first time. After the initial shock wore off and Ben realized he really was in control of the ship, he started to experiment. Theoretically, he knew how the controls operated and how they, in turn, controlled the ship.

Theory, as Ben was soon to discover, is far from reality.

He pulled the control stick to starboard, and felt his stomach lurch as the ship threw itself into a tight corkscrewing spin. He pulled back to the left, overcompensating his first turn and launched the ship in the same spin to port. Thanks to Artoo, he was finally able to even the ship out, and slowly started gaining the feel for the sensitive controls of the _Jade Shadow_. By the time Mara returned with her caf, Ben was flying the ship as smoothly as a leaf in a gentle breeze.

At five percent throttle.

"Good to see you're getting the hang of it." Mara noted as she took her chair. The asteroids were going by so slowly that Mara was able to reach out with the Force and drag one along just outside the port viewport. Quickly bored of that, she pushed the rock away, and shoved the throttle up to twenty percent.

"Skim the side of that larger asteroid," Mara pointed. "And when you're closest to the surface, hit the repulsors at full."

Ben guided the ship along the course she suggested, quickly adapting to the higher speed, and followed her directions exactly. The resulting burst sent the Shadow fifty metres off course in a second.

"Whoa!" Ben shouted. "That was great!"

"Works wonders in a starfight." Mara could not help but smile. "Ok, try some target practice, now that you're flying."

Mara sat back and watched her son quickly master the controls of the ship, easily guiding it around larger asteroids and attacking smaller asteroids at half of the Shadow's top speed.

_I'll be damned._ Mara thought to herself. _There is some Skywalker in him._

Over the next hour, Mara taught him various manoeuvres and tactics in space combat, which he quickly absorbed and mastered faster than any student Mara had ever taught.

"Well done!" Mara exclaimed as Ben performed a Crazy Ivan.

Artoo twiddled his excitement, and called Mara's attention to the comm panel. She flicked the appropriate switch.

"Jade Shadow, Twin Suns One." Mara could hear a smile in Jorvan's voice. "We'd like to request a challenge. The _Shadow_ against the Suns."

"What do you think, Ben?" Mara asked.

"You fly," Ben said, excited from his initial successes. "I'll shoot."

"You're on." Mara relayed, and took control over the ship. "Artoo, link with their astromechs and activate the training programs."

Mara reached out with the Force and detected her opponents lurking just at the edge of the nebula.

"Not exactly playing fair, are they?" Mara asked Ben and pointed to a section of space. "Activate a nav beacon and target these coordinates."

"Why?" Ben asked, utterly confused.

"We're going to overload the beacon." Mara explained. "The power supply is fuelled by liquid oxygen, which will react with the high concentration of magnesium in the nebula. It won't be enough to damage the ships, but it will simulate a torpedo blast for the simulator. The resulting 'damage' should take out half the squadron, and with the interference they won't even see it coming."

"Bombs away." Ben smiled and watched the makeshift torpedo travel towards the nebula. "Would that work with a real torpedo?"

"Only if it was full of liquid oxygen." Mara said with a grin as the beacon exploded. "Baradium doesn't work so well. Oh, look at that, they've decided to join the fight."

Five X-wings exited the nebula as Mara took advantage of their sensor blindness to guide the _Shadow_ behind a larger asteroid. Artoo announced the success of multiple targets being destroyed.

"I thought we were going to fight them." Ben said, as Mara powered down the engines to standby to minimize their sensor shadow.

"We are." Mara said. "We're fighting them with our heads. Anyone can jump in there and fly in circles and try to blow each other up, but the _Shadow_ isn't really designed for that."

Mara and Ben waited in silence as the squadron broke into two flights, and started searching for the _Shadow_. Finally the flight of two X-wings came into view and Mara used the Force to shove some asteroids into their path.

"Fire!" Mara exclaimed, powering the engines and launching the ship after the X-wings. The asteroids bounced harmlessly off the X-wing shields, but the computer recognized it as a much larger impact and 'collapsed' the shields. Several quick blasts from Ben's laser cannons later and the Twin Suns were down to three ships…which had launched a pair of torpedoes from behind.

"Not bad." Mara commented, sharply pulling the _Shadow_ around an asteroid in an attempt to shake off the pursuit and turned it into a lesson for Ben. "But in using two ships as bait, they've also lost some numbers."

Mara spun around to face the torpedoes as they corrected themselves and honed in on the _Shadow_, allowing Ben to blast the two torpedoes with ease.

_He's unconsciously using the Force!_ Mara thought, but a squeal from Artoo forced her to dive sharply as one of the Suns made a successful strafing run across the _Shadow_.

"Shields down to half." Ben reported while firing several shots at the retreating fighter.

"No, no." Mara said. "Focus on the other ones, he's out of range."

Just as she said that, the other two X-wings appeared in front and launched a volley of fire at the _Shadow_. Mara twisted the controls and slammed the throttle to max as Ben returned fire, trying to keep on target amid his mom's wild manoeuvres as she chased the two X-wings.

"I got one!" Ben shouted when Artoo reported another kill.

"And they got us." Mara said dejectedly. A pair of torpedoes had just impacted the ship from both above and below, creating sufficient damage to take out the Shadow. All the ships quickly reformed outside the asteroid field.

"Not bad, Jorvan." Mara commed. "Where'd the spare come from?"

"Keylay was hiding in the nebula." Jorvan's excitement was evident from his voice. "You only got half of us with that first shot, and I decided to keep one in reserve. Looks like it paid off."

"Well done," Mara complimented. "We're going back to Ossus. Paranian is yours."

"Acknowledged, Shadow, Paranian is ours. Have a safe flight back."

"You let him win." Ben said.

"Yes." Mara admitted, locking the coordinates for Ossus into the navicomputer and launching the ship into hyperspace.

"Why? Now they're going to make fun of me even more."

"Did you really think we could last much longer against them without the Force?" Mara said reasonably, trying to hide her feelings from her face. Petty schoolyard bullying aside, any time she got Ben to use the Force Mara counted as a win. "And we did take out three quarters of them."

"You weren't using the Force?" Ben asked excitedly.

"Nah," Mara smiled. "Except for throwing the asteroids around, I thought I'd give them a chance. They've got some egos to protect, and Jaina might get angry if I roughed them up too much."

Ben stared out at the circles of hyperspace and grinned. "That was fun mom. When can we do it again? Oh! Can I land the _Shadow_?"

"Soon." Mara said around a bitter-sweet smile as an image of a much older Ben flashed in her mind for a second. "You will soon enough."


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

From the Private Journal of Jedi Master Jacen Solo

=With comments by B. Wrarm, Jedi Librarian=

=Approximately 30 years after the Battle of Yavin, Several Months After the Yuuzhan Vong War Ended=

Well that sucked.

We boarded a derelict ship today and Womprat went and blew it up! That droid is so unpredictable!

The ship _was_ a prison ship from the pre-Empire era. We actually found a Weequay Jedi Knight in it. Micar Cree. He seems to be a great guy. He told us some stories about living in the Jedi Order. Obviously he was put on ice during the Clone Wars, probably near the end. Micar said he learned from a Jedi Master named Mace Windu how to fight using some form of combat he created called "Vaapad." We've never heard of it, but he said it's pretty intense and he's even offered to teach it to us! I never expected when I set out on this journey that I'd come across a real, living Jedi Knight from the Old Republic. He couldn't believe that Palpatine is long gone. Odd that he doesn't want to meet Uncle Luke. I don't quite get it. But I'm sure it's a shock that he's woken up such a long time after everyone he knew was long gone. He'll be fine, in time.

We also came across a baby Vornskr. This little guy is amazing! They're so smart and playful at that age, and hardly vicious at all. I think I can tame him. Eriana somehow got him to respond to the name 'Astro' when she was yelling at Womprat, and now he doesn't respond to anything else. He's fiercely loyal to me, even when I'm not using my empathic abilities to communicate with him. I think he knows I saved him. He's fine around Eriana and doesn't seem to mind Womprat, but he's very wary around Micar.

=Distant shouting noises=

Uh, oh, it sounds like Eriana and Womprat are fighting again. I'd better sign off.

=End=

-! #$%^&*()

Jacen and Jaina spent the next few hours catching up on current – and not-so-current – events sitting on the roof of the Jedi Academy while watching the dark rumbling rain clouds that cancelled Jaina's lesson as they passed by at a distance. Sitting there reminded them both of their time training on Yavin IV, when they would sit at the top of the giant ziggurat in the lazy rainforest heat and watch the wildlife from a distance. During the five years Jacen had spent wandering the galaxy in search of the secrets of the Force, he had been out of touch from his family, leaving much to discover. Likewise, Jacen had many stories to tell about his travels with his companions: Eriana, an outcast Jensaari-turned-Jedi under his tutelage; Womprat, an assassin droid hiding in an astromech shell; and Astro, a Vornskr he had raised from a pup.

First, Jaina told him that their parents were on a diplomatic mission, likely to return in a couple weeks. The resource shortages across the galaxy had sparked some wildfires that the Republic could not keep up with, and several Jedi with strong diplomatic skills were asked to assist. Jaina went on to tell him about her initial disastrous attempts at trying to help rebuild various parts of the Republic, but how her lack of focus had caused mistakes to be made. She explained that after the war had finished she had a hard time adjusting to life without the constant threat of impending doom and having to fight her way out of it.

"Master Skywalker decided that my time would be best spent taking care of Ben," Jaina said, laughing softly. "You can imagine how that went!"

Jacen tried to picture his sister, war hero, ace starpilot, and, occasionally a self-centred snob, trying to care for a three-year-old. "It's a miracle either of you survived."

"You know it," She agreed. "I think it was Uncle Luke's attempt to send me over to the Dark Side."

She continued to ramble on about how she had grown quite attached to Ben, and how she started teaching at the academy. Eventually over the years she found teaching was her forte, and through teaching she had become the happier person he now sat beside.

While Jaina had rambled on about the past few years, she fixed the lightsaber, proving she could still fix anything, including completely alien technology. As payment she demanded to know how Jacen and Nelani knew each other, and an explanation behind the whole 'Darth Harla' act.

"Well," Jacen began. "It's a long story. Five years ago I had the opportunity to infiltrate a Sith camp that was trying to recruit people into their ranks. Well, they weren't _real _Sith, not like Palpatine or Vader. More like Dark Jedi who decided to call themselves Sith."

"Why's that?"

"Well, they didn't have any of the traditional Sith knowledge. The whole Sith Magic and the like. I think I know more about the Sith than they do, now that I think about it. Anyway, Nelani was one of the people they found potential in, and they more or less kidnapped her into joining them. They gave me her as an apprentice because I was just so amazingly spectacular at what I could do…"

Jaina slapped her brother's arm and mirrored his grin, but remained silent and allowed him to continue.

"…and I convinced her that her unease with Sith ideologies made her a perfect Jedi candidate. Together we planned our escape, and got my crew, Kyle Katarn, and Lowbacca out in the process. We even stole their command ship."

"Wait," Jaina said. "Uncle Luke took a bunch of Jedi on a mission several years ago to attack a suspected Sith base. He said they were badly trained, but fought to the death. Nobody ever found out how he knew about it. You're telling me you were at that camp? And Lowie and Master Katarn?"

"You got it," Jacen confirmed. "Shortly after we broke out, Uncle Luke went in and cleaned up. But you're telling me there wasn't any major resistance?" Jacen looked shocked, troubled, and anxious, all at once.

"No," Jaina said, and Jacen jumped up to run towards the nearest turboshaft. "Wait! Where are you going?"

"To warn Uncle Luke," Jacen called over his shoulder. "If I'm right, there's a Vaapad master on the loose, and he's training an army."

"Vaapad? What's that?" Jaina stopped running when she realized her brother had already disappeared and that neither the empty roof, nor his forgotten lightsaber, had any answers for her.

-! #$%^&*()

"…Given the relative weakness of our manufacturing capabilities right now, we just can't keep up with the demand for materials – raw or finished. Leia, please help the Velmorians understand that we are trying to get their needs met, but there are many planets in need. May the Force be with you."

"Is it me, or does that guy look like he aged fifty years since the end of the war?" Han asked.

"Cal's been under a lot of stress rebuilding the Alliance these last few years," Leia responded, shutting off the holo projector. "With the majority of the galaxy's manufacturing capabilities destroyed in the war…" Leia allowed her voice to drift off sadly.

"I know, I know," Han finished. "Everyone wants their mines or their factories or their processed goods _now_, nobody wants to wait, blah blah blah."

"And that's only what the holonews is reporting," Leia said. "It isn't widely known, but there is a massive power struggle in the Senate. Senators representing major construction planets that were destroyed are finding themselves in the uncomfortable and unfamiliar position of begging for facilities to be rebuilt so they can get themselves back to their former glory. On the other hand, those who can provide the resources don't see why they can't take the place of those planets. As a result, a black market for material is growing…"

"And the Republic wants us to stop it." Han finished, unsurprised by this insider information.

"Yes."

"Again."

"Yes."

"Does this ever get old for you?"

"Ten years ago," Leia sighed. "What also isn't well known is that several planets are threatening to leave the Alliance in protest. Velmor is one of them."

"I'll warm up the navicomp."

"Leia?" A soft voice came from behind. Leia turned to face her Jedi Master of four years, Tresina Lobi.

"Yes, Master Lobi?" Leia responded.

"It's time for us to continue with your lessons, if you're finished bickering, that is," Tresina said with a smile, and retreated from the _Falcon_'s cockpit.

"Bickering?" Han asked. "That woman wouldn't know bickering if it slapped her across the face."

"Han, it's been four years," Leia said, rising out of her chair. "Are you ever going to get used to her being my Jedi Master?"

"No," Han grunted. "She hates me."

"No more than the rest of us, dear," Leia kissed him on the cheek. "And I still have much to learn. Let me know when we're there."

-! #$%^&*()

=From the Private Journal of Jedi Master Jacen Solo=

=With comments by B. Wrarm, Jedi Librarian=

=Approximately 30 years after the Battle of Yavin, Several Months After the Yuuzhan Vong War Ended=

This is going to sound weird. Last night after doing some Vaapad exercises with Micar I was meditating in the training area and...well...I heard voices. First there was this crackling laugh from one corner, and then I heard my name from another corner. It was a Coruscanti accent, which threw me off because nobody on the ship has that accent! I started looking around, and I heard two more voices. One was very familiar. Finally, this ghostly blue image appeared in front of me of this little guy no higher than my knee with long pointy ears and he introduced himself as Jedi Master Yoda! I know what you're thinking, and I did not have anything to drink that night! I could sense Womprat was powered down, and everyone else was sleeping so I knew it wasn't a holo image. Two others appeared, one who called himself Obi-Wan Kenobi, and finally... My grandfather. Yeah, Anakin Skywalker appeared to me, for the second time in less than a year.

=He sighs loudly and waits a moment before continuing.=

They told me that it was time to train me in the higher ways of the Force.

=He sounds bewildered= Yeah.

I thought the environmental systems were malfunctioning and I was hallucinating from oxygen deprivation, but they insisted it was real. They proved their powers with telekinesis and such. They also warned me that Micar isn't who he says he is, that he is a clone of former Jedi Master Sora Bulq, twisted by Palpatine and reserved as a potential Sith apprentice. I asked if I should stop learning from him, but they insisted I continue. They said they would guide me in mastering Vaapad without becoming corrupted as Sora was.

=He sounds very bewildered= Whoa.

Then they told me the creator of Vaapad was still alive, and told me where to find him.

That's the last time I skip dinner.

=End=

-! #$%^&*()

=From the Private Journal of Jedi Master Jacen Solo=

=With comments by B. Wrarm, Jedi Librarian=

=Approximately 35 years after the Battle of Yavin, 5 Years After the Yuuzhan Vong War Ended=

=His voice is very subdued and he speaks slowly, as if thinking about every word.=

Last night Yoda came to me while I was meditating. I could sense Qui-Gon was there too, but he didn't speak to me. I... =There is a long pause= I could sense their pride. They were proud of what I had accomplished these last five years. Proud of what they had accomplished, as well.

It was funny that they chose to come to me just when I was thinking of the first time we met; how bewildered and confused I was. I've learned a lot since then. Eriana and I both have. Masters Yoda, Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Mace, and grandfather – Anakin: They taught us stuff that no other Jedi could ever have known, and I am very grateful and humbled by the trust they have put in us.

=There is a full minute of silence with faint breathing, and then the sound of a deep breath being taken=

Yoda came to tell me that he was granting me the rank of Jedi Master.

I couldn't believe it. I still don't! Twenty five years old, and a Jedi Master. I told him I couldn't accept it, that I needed more training, but he pulled the =He imitates a cranky voice= "For eight hundred years have I trained Jedi" =End cranky voice= line for about the hundredth time. Before I could argue further, he told me to return to the Jedi immediately. He said I would understand after I arrive.

He also told me that I am to never, ever tell anyone that we were trained by them without permission. Especially Uncle Luke. He strictly forbade me from telling Uncle Luke.

=Extended silence=

They placed their trust in me, and I will not betray that trust.

=Another period of silence=

It'll take me a week to get to Ossus. I have already decided not to tell anyone of becoming a Jedi Master. I sense that the time may not be right and it might just make things more difficult. I don't know why Yoda decided to tell me this, why he couldn't wait. Eriana and I haven't cared about rank or anything in the time we have been out here together. We are who we are. What we're addressed as has no bearing on what we can do or who we are. But I do appreciate their show of confidence.

=End=


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Jacen stopped at the threshold of Master Skywalker's office with mixed feelings. Five years passed since he had seen his former instructor and uncle, as had countless lessons in the Force. Sometimes he found himself wondering if he knew more than his uncle, who generally limited himself to Jedi techniques, and what Luke would say to his new Master status. Jacen had essentially gone over his uncle by learning from the spirits of the Jedi Masters that had come to him during his five-year journey, and had been given his rank by Master Yoda himself. While Master Skywalker's self proclamation of Mastery had not sat well with some, it was a necessary stepping stone for rebuilding the Order. One might say, by earning his rank from Yoda – or any non-corporeal Jedi Master of the Old Jedi Order – Jacen now outranked Luke. However, Jacen was neither here to take over the Jedi Order or to get in an argument about rank. He did not care if Luke decided to rank him as a Jedi Youngling, so long as he was listened to. The Jedi Order needed to mobilize to find Soora Bulq, and where Luke went, the Order followed. That, at least, was never likely to change.

"Come in, Jacen," Luke's voice came through the simple wooden door. Jacen pushed the door open, and found his uncle staring out the window behind his desk at the Ossusian landscape before him.

"Master Skywalker," Jacen greeted Luke in the traditional manner with a bow. Then he broke out into a smile, and said "Hi, Uncle Luke."

Luke smiled, and turned around. He walked around the desk and gave Jacen a welcoming hug. "Welcome back, Jacen!"

"It's good to be back," Jacen replied.

"Please, have a seat," Luke gestured to a wooden chair in front of the desk, and took his own chair behind it. "What brings you back to the Jedi Order, my wayward Knight?"

"Soora Bulq," Jacen said simply, dropping his grin and adopting a serious look that could have been etched from stone. They could catch up later. "A clone of a Jedi Master and a Sith Lord-wannabe who knows far too much about lightsaber combat to be running loose."

Luke looked suspicious and put off by the quick change of topic. "Jacen, when Kyle and Lowbacca returned with a battle plan from you on how to stop a new Sith cult from rising, we acted on those plans. The Sith were destroyed, yet again. They didn't put up much of a fight, to be honest. Mara never even considered them to be real Sith."

"And that's what worries me," Jacen interjected. "Sora was trained by Mace Windu, one of the Old Jedi Order's best lightsaber duellists. Master Windu invented an extreme form of lightsaber combat, Vaapad, and used Sora as his punching bag. When Sora turned Dark, this clone was made by Palpatine and was flashed with Sora's memories."

"Okay," Luke said slowly, "But that doesn't explain how he's still out there. And could you explain what exactly 'Vaapad' is? I thought a Vaapad was a creature from an outer rim planet."

"It was named after the creature because of the resemblance to the speed of its limbs." Jacen paused to collect his thoughts. "Soora started my training in Vaapad, so I know how good he is. Quite frankly, you would have lost many Jedi if you fought him five years ago. He really is that good. The lack of resistance is what worries me because Vaapad is more than just an insanely advanced fighting style. It is a…a state of mind that enhances the user's the ability to fight by drawing on the Force to enhance one's physical attributes. Speed, perception, reaction. Everything. Even then, this description barely scratches the surface. Not only is it about enhancing the ability to fight, but it derives itself from the _joy_ of the fight. Not so much battle frenzy as wanting to fight and enjoying it. It is inherently what a Jedi might call a dark side form, if one does not properly guide their ambitions while using it, just like with the Force itself. It can be just as dangerous to the wielder as it is to the opponent because of the utter complexity of it.

"I think he escaped that planet before you arrived, and has been rebuilding an army of Sith warriors and training them in Vaapad. Not exactly an easy thing to do, but after five years…I mean, I learned the form in two years of hard study."

Luke leaned back in his chair, thoughts running rampant in his head. The implications of Jacen's theory were enormous, and it was not without base.

"I will have to discuss this with the Jedi Council," Luke finally said. "I'd like you to come to the next Council meeting, tomorrow morning at 0800 hours.

"With more Jedi Masters in the Order since the end of the war, we have adopted a more traditional Jedi Council where only Masters sit on the Council. Knights are not normally allowed into the meetings, except to make presentations or face inquiry. I would also like to see this Vaapad in action. How much training have you had in it?"

"Eriana and I are both masters of the form," Jacen said, flashing the lop-sided Solo grin. "But she's better than me."

Before Luke could ask who Eriana was, a frantic knock at the door ended their meeting. Luke quickly invited Jacen to his place for dinner in half an hour – with the promise that Mara would _not_ be cooking – and ushered him out the door. Two younger students that did not notice Jacen came in and started complaining loudly to Luke about some injustice one did to the other. Winking to Luke, Jacen closed the door, caught his bearings, and started for his ship.

-! #$%^&*()

The lines of hyperspace pulled away from the _Millennium Falcon_ to reveal a flotilla of cargo transport ships orbiting the greenish-blue sphere of Velmor.

"What the…?" Han exclaimed. He flicked on the internal comm system. "Hey Leia, who ordered all these cargo ships?"

Silent static filled the comm.

"Goldenrod, contact Velmor and get some landing instructions. Talk to the government and see about meeting with someone important. I'm gonna talk to the boss," Han said while relinquishing command to his new Noghri co-pilot. "And don't hit anything with my ship this time, Meewahl."

In the last year, the Noghri bodyguards had developed a desire to learn how to fly the _Falcon_ should Han and Leia become incapacitated. Han still did not trust the deadly bodyguards with his ship, but they had proved capable of not crashing into other ships on short flights.

He left the outrigger cockpit and proceeded to the passenger area where he found half his antique trophy collection being levitated in orbit around his wife. Leia stood on the ball of one foot, balancing a water bottle on the toes of her other foot and two trophies balanced on the tops of her wrists with her arms spread out straight. Deep in concentration, she barely seemed aware of anything while Tresina calmly gave orders. Tresina spotted Han, and smiled.

"Sense the entity that has entered the room," Tresina said. "Reach out with your mind, and levitate it."

"What?" Han exclaimed, as he left the floor and joined his trophies in their orbit. "Not funny, Leia! Put me down! Tresina!"

"Through the Force you will see things," Tresina continued, walking opposite to the flow of her trophies in their orbit around Leia. "The past, the present. Even the future…"

"I see me getting an Ysalamiri once we dock…" Han growled under his breath, angrily crossing his arms.

"I see Jacen," Leia spoke dreamily.

"I see a lightsaber burn in the floor plate," Han said, scratching it with his finger as his nose drifted a hand span from the deck plating in his revolving orbit.

"And Luke is there. Talking…Now they're fighting. Oh my!"

All the objects fell to the floor with an audible thump, including Han.

"Han!" Leia exclaimed.

"Noticed me, have you?" Han said sarcastically while rubbing the shoulder he landed on.

"Focus, Leia! Focus!" Tresina said angrily. "You can't allow yourself to be distracted every time you see something unpleasant. A Jedi must control her emotions!"

"Yes, Master," Leia bowed her head in defeat.

"Yeah, that's great…" Han started, but Tresina waved him off.

"What did you see?"

Leia looked up at Tresina, her face white as a ghost. "Luke and Jacen were fighting, and Jacen, he…I think he killed Luke."

"What?" Han exclaimed. "Jacen's just a kid compared to Luke."

"He looked older," Leia protested. "Fierce…powerful. He wasn't the Jacen we've always known. It was like nothing could stop him. Luke didn't stand a chance. He was on his knees and Jacen…" Her voice trailed off.

"I sense this event will soon come to pass, but there is nothing we can do about it," Tresina said after a moment, and then turned to Han. "Captain Solo, how many times do I have to tell you not to interrupt our training? I realize this is your ship, but that does not give you the right to barge in on Leia's training."

Han stood a moment slack-jawed.

"What do you mean I don't have the right? I'm her husband! And don't you _dare_ tell me what to do on _my _ship!"

Han stepped close enough to Tresina to tap her on the center of her chest with an angrily shaking forefinger. "The next time you want to go on your little Jedi missions and play your Jedi games, you can find your own ship." Han growled. "My wife and brother-in-law may be part of your crazy cult, but I've had it up to here!" He made a slashing gesture across his forehead

"Han!" Leia exclaimed.

Han turned and looked at his wife angrily. "When you're done playing Jedi, there's a fleet of cargo ships in orbit around Velmor. If that's close enough to the present for you to care about!" He turned and stormed out of the room back to the cockpit.

"Something tells me he wouldn't respond well if I offered to teach him a meditation exercise," Tresina commented when Han was out of earshot.

"I heard that!" Han shouted through the wall comm unit.

Leia walked over to the unit and turned it off as the ship gave a sudden lurch, forcing her to grab onto the bulkhead to steady herself. She was still unsteady from the vision, but was determined to hide it from her master.

"Han just doesn't like being out of control," Leia grimaced as the _Falcon_'s inertial compensators readjusted to the sudden decent. "He finds the whole Jedi mysticism to be too much at times, particularly when it hurts his pride. Or his bad shoulder."

Tresina nodded, accepting her lesson. Both women had learned a lot from each other, despite Tresina being the official Jedi Master.

"Why was he so worried about the fleet?" She asked Leia, deferring to her vast knowledge of politics. While Tresina's job was to train Leia in the ways of the Jedi, Leia's job was to teach Tresina about diplomacy.

"Because the Alliance hasn't promised any resources to Velmor," Leia's already pale face expressed more worry, giving her a hallow haunted look not too dissimilar to the face of a Givin. "In fact, they're very low on the list of planets to receive material; much lower than I can admit to them."

"Well, this is good, then," Tresina said happily. "It means the Alliance found stuff to send here, or they won't need any more from the Alliance."

"No," Leia said, surprised Han understood what her wise master did not. "It is worse. It means someone is trying to bribe the Velmorians. This will only make our job much harder."


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

While the Jedi Order contained his immediate family, with his aunt, uncle, and sister among the masters and his mother training as a Knight, the _Solo Quest_ had become Jacen's true home over the last five years. The heavily modified YT-2400 Corellian Freighter, willed to him by an affluent Jedi sympathiser who died in the Vong war, was rebuilt with an impressive array of military-grade hardware. Almost everything from the power plant to the quad-laser cannons, to the structural supports could be found on one military ship or another throughout the galaxy and were considered as illegal as many of the _Millenium Falcon_'ssystems. Jacen sometimes wondered if the _Quest_ was a Star Destroyer that was rebuilt to look like a YT-2400 freighter. However, not all the equipment was military-issue. Black market slicing devices, torpedo launchers, acceleration coils, seismic charges, and a wide range of other upgrades Jacen never had a desire to use, nor discover, were also part of his mobile home.

Upon landing on Ossus, a week after setting a course for his family, Jacen was greeted suspiciously. Jacen was surprised to find out the administrative staff, all of whom were non-Jedi, did not know who he was or of his latent status as a Jedi Knight. Levitating objects, such as the chairs that the head secretary and the other five administrators were sitting in, did not have any more affect on the staff than his claims of being Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo's son or Grand Master Luke Skywalker's nephew. They must have decided he would not be much of a threat until he pulled out a weapon and they had obviously seen many Jedi tricks working at the Academy. Finally, Jacen contacted Lowbacca through the Force, and had the two metre tall Wookiee come to vouch for him. While Jacen had learned mind tricks that would have the administrative staff referring to him as "Master Seybatine," he disliked such usage of the Force. When finally cleared as a Jedi Knight he was issued a key card for access in the Academy and a room. He accepted the key card, but declined the room. The _Solo Quest _was his home, and he was used to sleeping there from his five-year voyage.

However, when he returned to the ship from his meeting with Luke, Jacen had to wonder if it really was his ship.

Astro, his Vornskr, was sprawled out across the boarding ramp, basking in Ossus' afternoon sun. No doubt Astro's fierce features and reputation as a Jedi hunter were keeping everyone away from the ship, but Jacen knew Astro would not harm anyone without Jacen's permission. Astro made a rather unhappy grunt as he sensed Jacen's approach. The two of them had developed a strong sense of communication over their five years together thanks to the Vornskr's ability to use the Force and Jacen's own empathy.

Wondering what Astro was referring to, Jacen stepped over the lazy furball, walked up the boarding ramp to find out what was wrong, and opened the inner door to hear the sound of angry shouting coming from the far side of his ship. Curiously, Jacen walked around the inner corridor towards the shouting and found various wall panels removed, components littering the floor, and wires dangling out of the walls. In the middle of a technological mess that might go unnoticed on his father's ship, his two friends were engaged in a fierce battle of words. The actual words were difficult to determine even within two metres of the oral combatants. Jacen eventually figured out that Eriana and Womprat were both trying to fix the same problem in three different ways. Neither noticed Jacen's approach.

"Excuse me," Jacen said, loudly enough that they should be able hear, but neither stopped.

"Excuse me!" Jacen shouted, still unheard.

Drawing on the Force, Jacen trapped Eriana's voice in her throat, and stopped the power flow to Womprat's vocabulator.

Without moving parts, Womprat appeared to freeze, while Eriana kept "shouting" soundlessly. Both finally realised their efforts were futile and that Jacen was standing beside them. Eriana's face faded from a bright red to a more natural skin tone as she turned to look at him, and Womprat's dome rotated to centre Jacen in its optical sensor.

"Why is my ship being disassembled?" Jacen asked simply, releasing control over their voices. He did not bother to ask why they were shouting, as he knew first hand how stubborn and irritating Womprat could be.

"We got this request –"

"Statement: The Jensaari Saboteur –"

Both started at once, and Jacen waved them off.

"R12-47, shut up," Jacen said irritably. "Eriana, what is going on?"

She brushed a long strand of blonde hair behind an ear and exhaled a deep breath. "We received a request from the Jedi asking that we install a communications package with their encoding systems. I was attempting to do so, when Womprat decided I wasn't doing it properly."

"Interjection: Master, you and I both know that the droid brain of the _Solo Quest_ likes me more. Mynocs of a feather, and all that good poetic..."

"Mynocs don't have feathers, Womprat," Jacen replied. "Eriana, install the package and get this cleaned up. Womprat, listen to her. But first, both of you come with me."

"Where are we going?" Eriana asked.

"We have some planning to do before dinner."

-! #$%^&*()

The _Millennium Falcon_ set down in an open field five kilometres south of Del Velmor. From the flyby, Han made note that Del Velmor appeared to have suffered significant damage during the war that was still unrepaired. He found it ironic that they were landing in a farmer's field outside the city while the spaceport was being used as a shelter for the homeless. The traffic control tower from the spaceport directed them to an area occupied by a dozen other freighters haphazardly parked as if the pilots were unsure if they wanted to land at all.

_They're not the only ones who didn't want to be here. _Han thought to himself. _Kriffin' planet looks like it should be abandoned._

Five beaten up landspeeders that looked to be cobbled together by more random parts than the _Falcon_ approached as Han shut the systems down and activated various security protocols.

"I don't like this," Han commented, watching a security team file out of the landspeeders and take up positions on either side of the boarding ramp. The lack of uniforms made them look more like a pirate gang than a diplomatic escort, and their weapons were as random as the outfits. After the team was in position, another man with long black robes exited the nicest looking speeder and stood at the end of the column of guards.

"What _do_ you like?" Leia asked bitterly. His comments from her interrupted training session still hurt.

"Tropical beaches and drinks served in cups made of fruit."

Leia glanced at the welcoming party again.

"Not likely. Let's get out there before they start knocking and scratch the new paint job."

"Scratch my ship, indeed," Han muttered, reaching for the control for the hidden anti-personnel weapon.

"Han!"

"Just kidding!"

-! #$%^&*()

"Leia Organa Solo, it is an honour and a privilege to meet you!" The man in the long black robes greeted Leia as she descended the boarding ramp of the _Falcon_. He was shaking slightly in excitement, though Leia sensed there was more to his shaking than just meeting a celebrity diplomat. "On behalf of Los Othrul, the Prime Minister of Velmor, I, Deputy Prime Minister Zeeal Antillies, wish to formally greet you to Del Velmor."

"Thank you," Leia said gratefully. "But I find myself confused. What happened to the monarchy?"

"The Vong," Zeeal said darkly.

"I…understand," Leia said distractedly as the vision of Jacen's ferocity suddenly flashed across her mind. She suppressed it as quickly as it came and focussed herself. "I'd like to introduce you to Jedi Master Tresina Lobi, my husband Han Solo, See-Threepio, and my bodyguards, Cakhmaim and Meewahl."

Han grumbled something to himself. Tresina bowed at the mention of her name. Threepio appeared to want to say something, but a pre-emptive nudge from Han quieted the droid. Like usual, the Noghri simply stayed silent like a pair of shadows.

"A pleasure to meet you all," Zeeal said around his nervous smile and gestured to the idling speeder he had emerged from. "The Prime Minister will be unable to meet with you until tomorrow. He is a very busy man. Your sudden arrival caught us by surprise and he had some very important meetings to attend today. I have taken the liberty to make arrangements for your stay overnight, and for as long as you would like to remain here."

The group entered the speeder after the Noghri guards inspected it, and joined what remained of the main traffic circuit towards the centre of Del Velmor. The traffic consisted of the five vehicle convoy pushing pedestrians out of the way, following a single stubborn animal that zigzagged across the broken road refusing to let the speeders pass.

"As you can see," Zeeal pointed at the surrounding buildings. "We suffered considerable damage at the hands of the Vong invaders. Even now, five years after the war, we are slow to rebuild because of the lack of materials needed."

They passed by what looked like a sporting arena with lines of people waiting outside.

"Nearly seven-eights of our population are living in group shelters and are receiving food rations. The other eighth of the population, mostly those that escaped and came back after the war ended, have been recruited to acquire Alliance-sanctioned foodstuff and distribute it to the people. A small percentage work for the government directly, and we are finding ourselves swamped in administrative tasks."

"Have you considered organizing a work bee?" Han grumbled as he examined a building that looked like it was hollowed out by a barrage of Yuuzhan Vong plasma torpedoes.

"Sorry, Captain Solo?" Zeeal's confusion was obvious.

"Han brings up a valid point," Leia took over before Han could speak his mind. Han could be undiplomatic when in a good mood, and he currently was in anything but. "Velmor has bountiful reserves of raw material. Organizing the unemployed masses to extract those materials and process them would go a long way to rebuilding the planet."

"We tried that," Zeeal said sarcastically. "But it can be rather difficult to motivate people into mining duranium with their bare hands! The GA didn't provide the tools needed for us to harvest the raw materials. Within a month it all broke apart because everyone was standing around doing nothing."

"That guy's not doing nothing," Han pointed out the window. A man was using some makeshift tools to knock an old house apart. "Looks like the smartest guy I've seen since..."

"It appears that there may be room for some more ingenuity in your approach to rebuilding," Leia cut Han off, glaring daggers at the back of his head. "We do realize situations are unfavourable on Velmor, but the Velmorians are not alone in this hardship. Nearly two-thirds of the former-Republic planets are in similar - or worse - situations. Take Duros for example: they have a planet-wide forest where there were manufacturing facilities."

"Diplomatic excuses," Zeeal snorted as the speeder slowed down. "At least our problems are clearing up. Here we are, the Parliament. We have some guest rooms here, nothing special, though."

Zeeal opened the door and exited before anything more could be said. Leia exchanged glances with Tresina and Han as her Noghri exited, and followed them out. Zeeal led them down a once well-decorated corridor that had suffered from the results of the Vong war. The marble floor was scuffed, bright curtains that once hung on the windows were now dirty and torn, and most of the windows themselves were missing the transperisteel and filled in with whatever material was on hand.

"Think they're showing this to us because it looks bad, or because this really is the state of things?" Han's whispered question mirrored Leia's own thoughts. She merely shook her head.

"This will be your room," Zeeal gestured to one of the few rooms with doors. A guard opened the door, allowing them to enter. Cakhmaim went first, and a minute later signalled his approval. Unlike the hallway, the room was quite nicely furnished, and in decent shape.

"This room maintains a higher priority to maintain for our guests," Zeeal explained. "Please, make yourselves comfortable. Dinner with the Prime Minister will be in one hour. Please, do not hesitate to ask the guards for anything you might require."

Zeeal left the room, and the guards resumed their posts outside the door.

"I'll break out the scanning equipment," Han said, digging into one of his bags.

"I'll test the bed," Leia sighed, collapsing onto a mattress that looked much softer than it really was. "Are we in for it, or what?"


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Jaina's meditation was broken by the sound of a knock on her door. No, not her door. Her head. She only _thought_ she heard the knock. Curious, she reached out with the Force and found her brother at the door.

_How did I know?_ She got up and opened the door. Jacen stood there in a nice, clean outfit with an expensive-looking bottle of wine.

"Most people use the comm.," She said irritably, pointing to the white duraplastic unit on the doorframe.

"Yeah, but most people aren't your little brother who thoroughly enjoys annoying you from time to time," Jacen said with a smile. "Could you give me a hand with something?"

"That depends," She said evenly. "Is the wine for me?"

"Well, Uncle Luke invited me over for dinner…"

"And you want me to tag along?"

"If you want to, I suppose," Jacen responded. "I was just going to ask for directions to his place, but if you come you'll get some wine."

"Jacen, any droid could have told you where he lives," Jaina rolled her eyes. It was obvious he did not want to face their aunt and uncle alone his first time back. "Give me a minute."

She closed the door in his face, reappeared a few moments later with a fresh change of clothes, and led him off to their uncle's place. Two doors down the hallway she stopped and turned to face him.

"Here we are."

"Did you arrange these quarters or did he?"

"Rooms are given out aurebeshically," Jaina explained. "Or, at least they were when we moved in. I think they just wanted me close by to keep an eye on Ben, but they'll never admit it."

"Ah," Jacen knocked on the door.

"What's with you and knocking?" Jaina asked.

His response was cut off by the door sliding open to reveal a meter-high smiling kid.

"Jaina!" The three-foot smile looked at Jaina, then at Jacen, turned into a scream, and the door whisked itself shut.

"There goes my chance at winning the Skywalker family popularity competition," Jacen remarked.

"Ben's just a little leery around strangers," Jaina grinned. "He's still not using the Force."

"Interesting," Jacen commented. "I wonder…"

His thoughts were interrupted by Mara Jade opening the door.

"Jacen! Welcome back!" Mara stepped forward to hug her nephew and invited the siblings in. "Sorry about Ben, he's just not used to you. He does this to everyone at first." Jacen could see Ben hiding behind the arm of the couch. He took his first good look around his Aunt and Uncle's place and found himself surprised at how elaborate it was. The door opened up into a decent sized hallway, which branched to the right into another hallway and to the left it opened into a sitting area. There was a fireplace, a full entertainment system, hover-furniture, and even a sliding door opening to a balcony overlooking a vast field stretching out to the horizon. More rooms appeared to the left of the sitting area, but all were behind closed doors. The open one appeared to be the food prep area.

"Not a problem," Jacen said. "I hope you don't mind me dragging Jaina along. I wasn't sure how to get here."

"That's ok," Mara said thoughtfully. "I'll just have to make up something else for her."

"On second thought," Jaina said frantically, "I hear the mess is making bantha burgers. My favourite. I think I'll go grab something there."

"Nonsense, Jaina," Luke chose that moment to appear from the food prep area carrying a platter full of food. "Mara's just teasing you. _I_ made more than enough. Ben, come meet your cousin Jacen."

Ben ran from the couch to his room without a peep.

"Or not," Luke said dejectedly.

"It's ok, Uncle Luke," Jacen smiled. "He'll come out when he's hungry. I hope you like Ithorian Starflower wine." He presented the bottle to Mara, who examined the label with a mixture of disbelief and interest. Ithorian wines were exceptionally rare given that the planet was all but destroyed nine years before and none had been made since.

"Jacen, this bottle is twenty years old," Mara said in shock. "It must be worth a small fortune!"

"Yeah, I have a couple crates of them I found floating in space a year or two ago," Jacen said absently, examining some holoimages on a shelf behind him that he did not notice in his initial survey of the room. Most had Ben and many of the members and friends of the Solo/Skywalker clan. None included him, which was not all that surprising. The vast majority of the family's images were lost during the war, and he did not exactly stick around for a photo shoot after the war. Seeing an image of his brother, Anakin, on the shelf brought a smile to his face. "I keep them for special occasions. It's quite amazing that the bottles didn't break, being exposed to vacuum and all."

"Yes, amazing," Mara said, still examining the bottle in shock. A part of her wanted to take the bottle and run off to see what Mirax could get for it, and another part of her wanted to try it. She had never had Ithorian Starflower wine, and was likely never to again.

"Thank you, Jacen," Luke said, plucking the bottle from Mara's grip and glaring at her. His platter had been deposited on the dining table. "Please, have a seat in the den. I'll flash-chill this and grab some glasses."

Artoo-Deetoo rolled in from the food prep area with a tray affixed to his domed top, trilling with delight at seeing Jacen.

"Hi Artoo!" Jacen said upon seeing the little droid. "I've heard a few stories about you."

Artoo twiddled an inquiry as Jacen selected a little green chunk of meat on a wafer.

"Something about being in the starfighter that broke the Trade Federation's blockade over Naboo about ten years before the Clone Wars began, and escorting the former queen of Naboo around, among other things," Jacen chewed his appetizer, seemingly oblivious to the stunned silence around the room and the lights flickering in a panic on the droid. "Aunt Mara, what kind of meat is this? It has a spice in it I can't quite place. Is this Bantha?"

"Uhhh, no," Mara replied. "Dewback."

"Ah, I figured it was Tattooian," Jacen said with a wink, as his uncle came back and handed out glasses of wine. "It tasted a bit sandy."

Luke chuckled and raised his glass. "To our lost Knight: Welcome home, Jacen."

"Welcome home," Mara and Jaina repeated. Everyone took a sip of the exceptionally sweet, but not offensive, wine. Jacen closed his eyes and held the liquid in his mouth, fully enjoying the range of flavours that played along his taste buds before finally allowing it to slip down his throat. The beauty of Ithorian Starflower wine was the fruity concoction of flavours from all over the Ithorian home world that emerged as the temperature of it increased, with each flavour as pleasant and intense as the first.

"Wow!" Jaina exclaimed, taking another sip and experiencing the bouquet of flavours all over again. "What a rush!"

"Easy there, young one," Luke said with a smile. "There's only so much to go around." He took a seat beside Mara, and Artoo wheeled over for him to relieve the tray of some appetizers. Jacen got the distinct impression Artoo was avoiding him.

"So, Jacen, tell us about your trip," Luke began.

"Where do I start?" Jacen asked with a laugh. "It's been five years, and I've visited over twenty different Force using groups, not to mention over a hundred different cultures or species. I could write a holonovel series on the first year alone!

"I suppose I could start with the Jensaarai, where I was arrested for beating up a guy who pulled a lightsaber on me. That's where I met Eriana…"

Jacen rambled on about details of his trip, glossing over the parts about his training and mostly talking about the humorous and exciting parts. When he got to the story about the lost Tholian primate who thought he was its mother that had Jaina fall out of her chair from laughing and Mara hyperventilating, Ben snuck out of his room and hid behind the sofa his parents were sitting on. Jacen ignored him, and continued with the story. Two very entertaining hours later, and half way through his stories, they migrated to the dinner table and Mara forced Ben to sit with them. After a short battle of wills, Ben finally succumbed to his mother's demands, but sat as far away from Jacen as he could between his father and Jaina.

After dinner Luke and Mara took turns telling him about what had happened in their galaxy while he was away. They spoke about the galaxy's resource problems, how the planets that were destroyed by the Vong were now begging from the planets that retained all the surviving technology and means to extract building materials, and the resulting tensions. They continued on about how the Jedi had immediately taken over Ossus and established the Academy, gained their autonomy from the Republic through a crafty financing idea of Talon Karrde's, and the efforts to rebuild the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, not to mention the efforts to rebuild the count of Jedi.

"What will happen to the Academy here?" Jacen asked. "You seem to have put a lot of effort into this to just abandon it, and without the Council here it will be largely unprotected from the Sith if you keep it as an academy."

"The Sith?" Mara asked dismissively. "Jacen, the Sith have been gone for years. Decades, if you exclude the impostors. What are you talking about?"

Jacen exchanged a glance with his sabbacc-faced uncle and decided on the diplomatic route. "Ask me again tomorrow." Jacen decided it was time to talk to Ben to head off the silence he knew would follow such a comment. "So, Ben, have you decided if I'm dangerous yet?"

Ben's eyes widened and Jaina put her hand on his shoulder.

"Jacen, it's not nice to read kids' minds!" She chided her brother.

"I can't help if he was shouting," Jacen responded, finishing his wine. "Well, Benny?"

Ben took a moment to respond, gathering his courage. "My mom's more dangerous than you!"

"Ben!" Mara and Jaina exclaimed together, but Jacen and Luke laughed.

"That, she is, Ben," He tossed a wink at his aunt. "That, she is." Jacen hoped agreeing with Ben would break the ice between them.

"Is that the time?" Jaina asked with surprise, spotting the wall chronometer. "Uncle Luke, we have the meeting early tomorrow, and it's getting late. I should probably get some rest. It _is_ my first Masters meeting."

"I think I should too," Jacen agreed. "Thank you for the wonderful meal, I'll have to come back to this restaurant some time."

"Any time, Jacen," Luke laughed softly. "Our door is always open to you."

The four Jedi got up and made their way to the door. Jacen hugged his aunt again, and shook hands with his uncle. Ben hid behind his dad's leg. Jaina hugged all three, and the two siblings bid their final good-byes for the night. Two doors down, Jacen gave his sister a hug and thanked her for joining them before heading back to the _Solo Quest_. After she closed the door Jacen pressed the buzzer on the comm unit and sprinted down the hall before she could come after him. He could feel her mock anger and amusement through their twin-bond, which made him smile that much more broadly.

_It's good to be back with family_. Jacen thought as he left the dormitory area. _Nothing quite like free food, and good cooking._

-! #$%^&*()

From the Private Journal of Jedi Master Jacen Solo

=With comments by B. Wrarm, Jedi Librarian=

=Approximately 33 years after the Battle of Yavin, Three Years into Master Solo's Journey=

I met up with an Aing-Tii warship after almost a month of searching for them. They certainly have not disappointed! Highly powerful technologically speaking, but very peaceful. Unless you're a slaver. They hate slavers, and their ship would put a Super Star Destroyer to shame. Their ships are organic in nature, not unlike the Yuuzhan Vong's ships. However, their technology is not why I sought them out. They have a grasp of the Force unlike any I have met to date. Their warriors use the Force it in a truly unique way by bending space and time around thought and matter. I know it sounds confusing, and Eriana seemed entirely flabbergasted when I told her about it, but it is very interesting stuff. They have powers of precognition more substantial than any Jedi I have ever met, and they even seem to be able to warp time around them. That is what makes them such powerful warriors – they know what the enemy is doing before the enemy does, and they can slow time around them to react much faster. It isn't unlike a Jedi's ability, but it is more pronounced.

But that's hardly the most interesting thing of all. They can make objects disappear from one place, and appear somewhere else. They don't use hyperdrives on their ships; they just concentrate and move their ship across the stars! That is an ability that would be especially handy, especially if I lost my lightsaber! =Laughing=

I have to admit, when I first met them, it was a very tense situation! They don't exactly speak, seeing as they can't make any sound, so we had to communicate through the Force. I'm so glad I visited the Theran Listeners before coming here! When I finally told them why I sought them out, they were very reluctant to speak to me. They believe the Force is not to be used frivolously; that it is a gift from their gods. I think they see the Jedi as too interfering in the galaxy's affairs with using the Force, and were therefore quite cautious to tell me anything. It took me about two hours of communicating with them before they would even tell me about their abilities, and even then they didn't want to teach me anything. I think it was their way to scare me off; to show me how powerful they are and that I can't beat them. Let's see, a YT-2400 on one side, and a Super Star Destroyer killer on the other side. I don't think I would argue with them.

Eventually Yoda showed up and spoke to them. I have a feeling Yoda's claims to have never actually met them weren't entirely true based on how well accepted his presence was. Yoda told me he promised them that he would stop me from abusing anything they taught me, and they finally agreed to teach me their secrets. Tomorrow I start my training with the Aing-Tii. I wish Eriana would join me, but she's been busy trying to fix a flutter the port engine picked up. She's been doing a great job keeping the ship running the last few years, but she's no Jaina. I sometimes wonder if she's learning to fix things so we're not dependant on Womprat, or so that she has something useful to learn when she's not interested in the "Species of the Month" I come across. She did say she'll let me teach her some of the easier stuff when I'm done my training, so there is hope for her yet.

=End=

-! #$%^&*()

Leaving Leia and Tresina occupied with the post-dinner formalities, Han escaped to their room complaining of a store stomach. However, Han's plan was different. His earlier scans had not detected any observation devices within the room they were given, so his only obstacle was the guards. Gathering the equipment he would need, he nodded to Cakhmaim and hid behind the door. Cakhmaim sighed and walked out to the guard.

"My good sir," Cakhmaim hissed in his raspy feline voice. "Master Solo requires a glass of blue milk to calm his stomach."

The guard looked down at the Noghri and nodded.

"Ok, I'll be right back." The guard responded, pulling out a comlink. "Let me call for backup."

"My mate can watch him." Cakhmaim said angrily. "Master Solo wants his milk now!"

Scared of the Noghri's reaction, he set off down the hall at a brisk pace. Cakhmaim followed, insisting on preparing the milk himself.

Han could not help himself from grinning his famous lopsided smile as he slipped out of the room as their voices faded down the hall. He opened the window opposite to his door and looked down. A five-storey drop looked back up at him. Grimacing, he tightened the straps on his repulsor pack and adjusted the controls so he would hover a half-metre off the ground. He eased himself forward using the controls until he was outside and gently closed the window, careful to rig the latch so it would not leave him locked out. He tweaked the controls slightly so he was hovering at eye level with the windowsill and deactivated the repulsor pack. At the last second before impact he reactivated the repulsor and turned it off again. The end result was a somewhat graceful landing on the ground and a horrible stomach ache.

_I'm getting too old for this_. Han thought as he forced his dinner to stay down and picked himself off the ground. He disconnected the repulsorlift backpack and he stashed it behind a large blue bush against the palace wall where nobody would see it. He crept along the building, careful to avoid stepping on any branches or making too much noise and came to the service door where two palace workers were unloading a hoversled while talking about the latest grav-ball game. When the hoversled was empty, Han waited for the workers to go inside, then jumped into the cab and hacked into the security lock. The hoversled hummed to life and he sped off toward the town.

Ten minutes later Han left the stolen hoversled hidden behind a burned out building full of small trees trying to reclaim the land and walked towards a rather dismal looking cantina with a small crowd of people milling around outside. Two miserable-looking Trandoshans guarded the door, keeping the crowd out. Han walked up to a rather jittery looking old man shuffling around the outskirts of the crowd.

"Hey there," Han said. "What's going on here?"

"Got credits?" The man said defensively, shifting away slightly and shaking his head. "Won't tell ya nothin' till I get credits."

Han tossed him a twenty credit chip which the man almost dropped from surprise. Several other people were looking over at Han and the old man now.

"Got more of that?" The man asked tentatively, shifting towards Han.

"That depends," Han said, gesturing with his chin at the crowd while tightening his hand on the small holdout blaster in his jacket pocket. "What's going on?"

"S'like this," The man moved closer to Han, far too close for the liking of Han's nose. "We all want da booze, but we ain't got da credits. Won' let us in. And we can' work, so we can't get da credits, so we can't get da booze. An' without da booze we...we..." The man's voice trailed off, but the blank look on his face spoke volumes about his self-inflicted confusion even in the moonlight.

"How 'bout I buy you a round?" Han said, grabbing the man and moving him towards the cantina door before he could answer.

"Where do you think you're going, grampsess?" The Trandoshan bouncer glared at Han menacingly.

"Wherever I want," Han flipped a pair of fifty-credit chips into the air and walked into the bar even before they disappeared in the Trandoshans' hands.

The inside of the cantina was as attractive as the clientele waiting outside. One corner appeared to have been set on fire years ago and had been avoided since. Long destroyed holoscreens were scattered around the place strategically, and the only part that looked well maintained was the bar counter itself. Highly polished, likely out of boredom, and made of real wood, the counter looked abnormally classy amid its abysmal surroundings. The bartender looked like he was once the size of a small Hutt, but had lost a lot of weight in a very short period of time. He glared at Han and the old man as if they carried a disease.

"Whadda want?" the bartended sneered.

"Whadda have?" Han said evenly.

"Home brew."

"What's that?"

"Something I make in the basement to kill rodents."

"Two, please," Han said, dropping a few coins on the counter. He accepted the drink a moment later and turned to the old man. Before he could say anything, the old man picked up his glass and drank half of it, stopping only when he gagged and started coughing.

"Easy there," Han plucked the drink from him as the harsh coughs subsided, then handed it back when he straightened up. "Try sipping it this time."

"Thanks." The man took a sip and Han attempted to imitate him, but could not get past the smell of the vile liquid. Instead he let it brush against his lips and pretended to take a sip. It was enough to make him want to vomit. "So what were you saying about the government?"

The old man leaned in close to Han, forcing him to discover yet another smell he could barely tolerate.

"The government has ears everywhere," He said conspiratorially. "They don't like us talking to outsiders. Might hurt us."

"Do they give you drinks?" Han asked, thankful for a reason to slide his drink towards the man. The man eyed it for a moment suspiciously before continuing.

"They're stopping us from work," He said. "Don't like it when we fix things up, cuz then the R'public doesn't give us anythin' for rebuildin' the stuff. Want to milk it all for what they can. Big beatin's for anyone tryin' to patch a roof or make a house. Anyone who does, da police burns it down at night. Mines collapse, railcars derail…"

At that moment a pair of armed guards wearing riot gear burst into the bar and threw Han and his new friend to the ground.

"Down! Everyone down! You, hands on the bar!"

The bartender put his hands on the bar, as ordered, and the few remaining people climbed to the ground and knelt down.

"Ow," Han finally realized his head had hit the ground. He shifted himself so he could work his holdout blaster out of his pocket and kept it hidden in his hand.

"Who are you?" A blaster barrel appeared in front of Han's nose, and at the end was a large black-armoured human.

"Jenos Idanian," Han supplied the first name he could think of, then twisted his body away from the blaster and fired a shot at the unprotected policeman's chin. Before he could fire at the second guard the Trandoshans both blasted the second officer.

"Thanks!" Han said to the giant lizard looming over him.

"We protect our patronssss," The Trandoshan replied, offering him a hand. "But one mussst asssk…Why are you assssking these questionsss?"

"Trying to do my part for you guys," Han said. "How 'bout I buy you a round? Or, one for everyone?"

He pulled out a handful of hundred-credit coins and handed them to the wide-eyed Trandoshan.

"Split the change with your buddy."


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"…and with a new breed of Sith on the loose, it is the responsibility of the Jedi to seek them out and thwart any attempts to destabilize what precious little the galaxy has gained in the last few years."

Jacen Solo had spent the last half hour briefing the Jedi Council and virtually all the Jedi Masters in the Order on why he believed the Sith were re-emerging. Luke had decided such information was too significant to not include as many of the thirty Jedi Masters as possible in the discussion. Only those who were deep under cover or on diplomatic missions were not present.

"Thank you, Jedi Solo," Kyp Durron's voice came from the right of Jacen. The Council members sat at the large C-shaped wooden table, while the other Jedi Masters stood along the walls. Jacen stood alone inside the curve of the table, directly in front of Master Skywalker. "You will now leave so we may discuss this issue."

"I would like to take part in the discussion," Jacen said.

"Jacen, you were invited to this meeting for your presentation," Luke explained, cutting Kyp off. "Knights are not permitted to join in on discussions uninvited."

"Then invite me," Jacen suggested.

Many shocked looks were traded around the room. Only Mara ordered Luke around, and never in public.

"This is not a discussion we feel any Jedi Knight is privy to," Kyp said. "Leave this chamber now."

"Well, if you won't invite me as a Knight," Jacen said slowly, "Promote me."

This argument sent ripples of conversation through the room. Kyp leapt out of his seat and was shouting something, but Jacen merely stared at him without flinching as his voice was drowned out by the other Jedi arguing in the room. Jacen could feel his sister's eyes burning into him, so he sent a reassuring pulse through their twin bond. _This needs to be done._

_Be careful,_ Jaina warned.

Kam Sulster stepped forward to speak and the voices silenced. Kyp sat down, but continued to look as though he had feasted on a live mynock. "Jacen, while everyone here respects your abilities and your history with the Jedi Order, you have been out of touch with us for five years now. We can not set a precedent for any Jedi to leave a Knight for a few years and reappear as a Master. It just wouldn't be proper for us to do something like that."

Jacen considered Kam's argument with a nod. "And I suppose you'd also be wondering what my abilities are now since I haven't been around for long."

"Yes, exactly," Kam continued. "How do we know you haven't become less adept at using the Force, rather than better?"

Jacen nodded again, and chose his argument carefully. Yoda had warned him that information about his contact with the ascended Jedi should be kept from the other Jedi unless absolutely necessary. Especially from Luke. "What if I promoted myself?"

"You can't do that!" Kyp jumped out of his chair again in outrage, knocking it back so it hit a pair of Jedi behind him. "No Knight can simply claim Mastery! The Cou…"

"Master Skywalker did," Jacen cut Kyp off. "And who better than myself to judge my own skills?"

Before anyone could throw another word at Jacen, Luke stood up.

"Come with me. Nobody is to leave this room until I return."

-! #$%^&*()

Luke led Jacen out into the gardens around the Academy, but did not speak until they reached an area deserted of other Jedi surrounded by a waist high hedge.

"Explain yourself," Luke did not appear angry, but rarely did he speak so abruptly. Jacen could sense waves of anger well hidden beneath his uncle's calm exterior.

"I should be part of that meeting," Jacen said. "You know it, I know it, and they know it. You're all hiding behind some silly rules to keep me out so everyone can criticise me, look the other way to ignore a very real threat, and go back to being good little Jedi sitting your collective butts on your Republic-sponsored throne in a time of peace. Nobody wants another war, least of all myself, so they're trying to ignore the possibility of one by discrediting me. Doesn't this all sound a bit familiar? I seem recall the New Republic doing exactly that to us at the start of the Vong war."

"Jacen, look how it appears from where we're sitting," Luke argued. "You came out of nowhere after five years of gallivanting around the galaxy and start ordering Jedi Masters around. Not just one, _the entire assembly!_ I'm surprised no lightsabers were lit."

"And that alone indicates a problem!" Jacen exclaimed, pointing back towards the Academy. "You have so-called-Masters who can barely control themselves running an organization of very powerful beings entrusted with the protection of the galaxy itself! They're as egotistical, stubborn, and short sighted as any of the former New Republic senators who nearly lost us the last war before it even begun. You think _I'm_ the problem? I'm trying to protect lives - trying to get _their _job done - and they won't even give me the chance to speak without you telling them to let me? They're too busy going on with their own lives to notice we have a _responsibility_ to the galaxy!"

Luke opened his mouth to speak but Jacen cut him off, switching tactics.

"Even if I'm wrong, as remote a possibility as that is. Even if I am wrong, would it hurt to be cautious? To look around? Ask some questions? If we spend a week looking for a threat to the innocent lives of this galaxy, the worst that _anyone_ can say is that we're over budget on fuel for this quarter. At the end of the week, the Jedi Order will be doing their _responsibility_ by pursuing the safety of the people of the galaxy.

"And if I am right," Jacen stepped closer to Luke staring the Jedi Master directly in the eyes with a fire burning in his own. "We will be far better prepared to address the threat of the Sith than if we sat around waiting for them to strike first. Which, might I add, is exactly how they damn near got us the last time.

"It's not like this is a real council anyway; it's just you pulling your puppets' strings. Go back to them and tell them what to do like always," Jacen said scornfully, spreading his hands palm out. "I'll wait here and let you pretend to ask them what to do with this 'lesser being.' "

Jacen turned away and sat down cross-legged on the ground. He closed his eyes and slipped into the slow steady breathing pattern of a Jedi meditation trance. Luke could sense there was no point to continuing and started on his way out of the garden. What stopped Luke from retaliating was not Jacen's resolve or meditation trance, but the truth behind his criticism - the truth that was making his vision a reality.

-! #$%^&*()

Han parked the stolen hoversled where he found it and crept back along the side of the palace to where he stashed the repulsorlift. The lack of increased patrols around the dilapidated castle seemed to indicate nobody noticed his absence or the disappearance of the hoversled. He strapped the repulsorlift to his back and activated it, rising to the exact height he was hovering at before, just below the windowsill. He saw the two guards, his own and Leia's, outside the door.

_Great,_ Han thought to himself. He pulled out a comlink and clicked it twice. A few moments later Threepio charged out of the room at his top speed and waddled down the hall. Leia burst out of the room after him.

"After him!" Leia told the guards. "Don't just stand there."

The two guards sprinted after the runaway droid, and Han quickly opened the window and hoisted himself through. He slipped into the room and disconnected the backpack, stashing it back in his duffel and grabbed his nightclothes. He hurriedly put the shirt on over his other clothes and got into the bed, pulling the cover up to his neck. Cakhmaim pointed at the glass of blue milk and Han drank half of it in one gulp, almost choking in the process. A moment later the guards came in dragging a deactivated Threepio.

"What's with all the noise?" Han croaked groggily. "Can't a guy get a night's sleep around here?"

"Sorry M-Master Solo," One guard mumbled, trying to back out of the room. "Won't happen again."

With the door finally closed, Tresina deactivated the lights and went into a meditation trance to muffle sounds in the room in the guards' minds. Han quickly told Leia what happened as he properly dressed himself for bed. When he finished his version of the night and was back in bed, Leia relayed events to him.

"After you left there was a bit of an argument between Prime Minister Othrul and one of the other guests. He stormed out and the rest of us were quietly escorted away. Tresina and I decided to do some hunting and we used Threepio's new slicing protocols to break into the central communications mainframe. Guess what we found."

"Vong holovids?"

"A series of communications between Los Othrul and a couple planets what was formerly Hutt space," Leia ignored his reply. "The records and logs themselves were deleted, but the secondary log files were still there."

"Someone's trying to cover their tracks," Han stated the obvious. "And not doing a very good job about it."

"My thoughts exactly," Leia confirmed. "Whoever was doing this obviously didn't expect us to go poking around. But why Hutt Space? The last we heard, the Mandalorians moved in to fill the power vacuum."

"You think the Mandos are moving against the GA?"

"If they are, they're not following their usual routine." Leia sighed. "Normally they just muscle themselves in. I've never heard of a Mandalorian that was into the political subterfuge business."

"Sounds more like Palpatine or the Bothans to me," Han commented.

"Yeah, right," Leia said sarcastically. "Another Sith on the loose is about as likely as a Hutt giving to charity."

-! #$%^&*()

Luke returned to Jacen four hours later. For the first hour the Jedi Masters discussed what Jacen had presented, and Luke found himself using many of Jacen's own arguments to calm his own fears. After the second hour, which mostly consisted of Jedi shouting at each other over various topics from Jacen's status of a Jedi to the possibility of the Sith existing, ended with Luke forcing a vote on the subject. After several passionate speeches from many viewpoints, some more relevant than others, the vote ended the third hour with a tie. Luke broke the tie, deciding it prudent to do as Jacen had suggested – the proof of Jacen's words were not lost on Luke, but the Force told Luke they had decided correctly. A meeting was called for after evening meal to discuss ways to seek out the Sith, a meeting to which Jacen would be invited on Luke's insistence. Luke's fourth hour of absence was spent meditating about the fundamentals of his Order, and reflecting on how knowledgeable his nephew had become – and how dangerous that knowledge could be. He also considered the implications of Jacen's words on his vision, but found he hardly understood any more of it than he did on the night he had it.

After he finally felt comfortable in facing his nephew again, Luke wandered through the gardens in a vague path towards where he left Jacen. He spotted Jacen sitting in the same spot he had been left and stopped just inside the entrance to the clearing. He knew Jacen could sense him and made no effort to hide the fact. He waited until Jacen stood up and walked over. A seemingly satisfied look was on his face.

"I'll be at the meeting," Jacen said. "Thank you, for giving me the chance, Master. I am sorry about my words, but I think you will agree that some of them needed to be said."

Luke nodded thoughtfully for a moment as Jacen started walking away, then used the Force to tap his nephew on the shoulder. Jacen turned back and looked at Luke.

"You can't come in here and make statements like you did today, regardless how right you think you are. I won't stand for it again. Neither will the others. If you have issues with how the Order operates, come to me in private."

"Master," Jacen looked at the ground for a moment, and then back at his uncle. All signs of satisfaction were gone, and Luke was surprised to see how sad he looked, as if on the verge of tears. "I shouldn't have to."

-! #$%^&*()

Jaina wandered lost in her thoughts along the reddish flagstone paths that meandered through the squat buildings that made up the classroom area of the Jedi enclave. She ran the events of the past couple hours through her head trying to make sense of what happened. Jacen's outright defiance of the Council troubled her and made her wonder just how much of her brother had changed over the years of his absence.

_Probably about as much that changed in you_. A nagging voice in her head rang out, causing her to laugh at herself.

A series of low growls and grunts came from nearby causing her to turn and see her old friend Lowbacca talking to her aunt beside the entrance to one of the classroom modules. Seeing Jaina, Mara quickly excused herself and set off, citing the need to fill out some paperwork.

"Hi Lowie," Jaina said. "It was quite an interesting first meeting."

Lowie chuffed out a laugh. [Jacen certainly livened things up.]

"Yeah," Jaina agreed. "Who knew he'd make a comeback quite like that?"

[He always has had his own way of doing things and seeing things nobody else did.] Lowie pointed out. [I just hope he is right.]

"You want the Sith to return?" Jaina asked incredulously.

[Never!] Lowie barked. [But I do not want to see a good friend's name tarnished for doing what he believes is right. The Council would blacklist him, and none would ever oppose the Council again. We need to be challenged, or we will become ineffective. That is not what the Jedi should stand for. We are becoming too political, too much like the Republic.]

"Well, at least he has a friend in the Council," Jaina smiled up at the towering Wookiee.

[Jacen has many friends,] Lowie grumbled. [Most are just unwilling to commit the Jedi to another war, or to stand against Master Durron. Kyp's support among the more militant-minded Jedi has only increased since the end of the war.]

"What do you think?" Jaina asked after a minute. "You were there with him in that Sith camp. Could he be right?"

Lowie gave her a funny look, as if he was trying to figure out how she knew that piece of information.

[I think,] Lowie moaned carefully. [I should have found the courage Jacen has, five years ago.]

Lowie turned his back to Jaina and walked away, leaving her to some thoroughly troubling thoughts.

-! #$%^&*()

From the Private Journal of Jedi Master Jacen Solo

=With comments by B. Wrarm, Jedi Librarian=

=Approximately 35 years after the Battle of Yavin, Two days after Master Solo returned to the Jedi Order=

=Sarcastic tone= Well, they're certainly not happy with me!

=Bewildered tone= What the =several explicit terms omitted for viewership= happened to the Jedi Order? I can't believe it. I don't _want_ to believe it! They're…they're acting like children! The Masters are sheep to the Council; nobody listens to each other; they…they're closed minded and…and…almost xenophobic! They're more concerned about their own wellbeing than the lives they should be protecting in the GA! The Order was never meant to be like this! How did Uncle Luke let things get this bad? He…I could never win an argument against him before and today I made him look like an idiot. I feel horrible! I didn't want to do that, but it just happened! Uncle Luke must hate me right now.

=A loud moan=

At least the worst of it happened in private.

=A moment of silence=

I did not come back here to do what I did today, but I didn't have any other choice. One thing led to another, and all of a sudden I was telling Uncle Luke how badly he botched up. I've even noticed it in Jaina – she's so complacent with the Jedi Council. It's like they can do no wrong to her and she just follows along because they're supposed to always be right. But it doesn't even look like they don't even know what is right – they're just clinging to power. When did Uncle Luke ever dismiss the view of one of his Knights? And the way Kyp flipped out when I suggested promoting me? Wow. At least they still listen to Uncle Luke, so there is hope for them. I know he's strong enough to reform the Order, but he just seems unmotivated to do it.

Thankfully a few of the masters who can help him out seem to be using their brains, namely Kam. Oh, and Aunt Mara seems to have her wits about her – but that doesn't surprise me. She's always been more of a survivor than anyone I've ever known. What I am surprised about is that she let Uncle Luke get so soft and that she hasn't been getting involved in anything. I get the sense she has other concerns though, namely Ben.

Ben. =Small laugh= Cute kid. And way more powerful in the Force than he realizes. He'll make a great Jedi one day.

=Groan.=

What am I going to do now? We're suppose to be fighting the Sith, not each other!

=End=


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Jacen left his befuddled uncle behind in the garden and returned to the _Solo Quest_. On his way several Jedi gave him odd looks and refused to speak to him. Others who knew Jacen and had worked with him in the past, like Corran Horn, greeted him warmly and welcomed him back to the Order. When he reached his ship he found Jaina and Eriana talking to each other in the main sitting area. An odd silence and the two women's intent stares at the active Holonet screen displaying weather reports on Naboo gave him an idea of what their topic of conversation had been.

He held up his hands to Jaina, palms out, and said "I don't want to hear it."

"I wasn't going to say it!" Jaina returned.

"Good." Jacen plopped onto a comfortable acceleration couch so he could watch the weather report. "Uncle Luke loved what I had to say."

"What did you say to him?" Jaina asked. "He wasn't…himself, when he got back. It's like you destroyed his faith in the Jedi. I thought he was going to tell _you_ off!"

"I thought you weren't going to say it," Jacen mumbled miserably with a sigh. "He tried to tell me off, but I think my arguments made more sense to him than his own did."

"What did you say to him?" Eriana asked, intrigued by the meeting she was not invited to. Jacen and her _were_ their own council the last five years and she was used to being part of the decision making. She started flipping through channels on the Holonet until she found an old Clone Wars holo.

Jacen shook his head and groaned. "No offence, Jaina, but I basically told him his choice in Jedi Masters had much to be desired and his way of running things was ludicrous. I think he agreed."

"I don't suppose you told him about Yoda making you a Master, did you?"

Jaina looked from Eriana to Jacen with a look of complete confusion. Jacen glared at Eriana, who did not notice as she was now fully absorbed in the Holonet display, and said "Thank you, Eriana. At least _I_ didn't break my word."

"What?" Eriana asked, and then realized Jaina was still there. "Oh, Sithspawn! Jacen, I'm sorry! We've always been so open with our discussions…"

"Forget it," Jacen said, waving a hand. He sat back and looked at his sister. "Well, now you know. I'm the first Jedi Master of the Old Order since before Uncle Luke was born."

"What?" Jaina said. "That's not possible. Yoda and Obi-Wan are gone. Obi-Wan told Luke that himself."

"Mmmmm, gone am I? Gone where, I ask?" Yoda's voice sounded from behind Jaina, causing her to spin around in her chair. The shock on her face made the floating blue Jedi Master laugh his best crackling laugh.

"Ok, good one Jace," Jaina said unconvincingly with a slight quiver in her voice. "This is some sort of trick you learned while you were travelling, isn't it?"

Jacen didn't say anything.

"Not quite, Young Master Solo," Obi-Wan's voice and smiling image appeared beside Yoda's. "We are quite real. Well, as real as we can be, that is."

"Yo, Benny," Eriana waved without looking away from the Holonet screen, and then pointed at the screen. "Can you believe this guy they got to play you in this holomovie?"

"I don't know where they found him," Obi-Wan sighed, scratching his chin. "My beard never looked like that."

"Jaina," Jacen moved to sit beside his baffled sister and took her hand in his. "You can't tell anyone about this. Yoda, Obi-wan, my rank…none of that changes who I am, but it could cause tensions within the Order."

"Tensions? Jacen, this could help the Order in ways neither of us could dream of!" Jaina exclaimed looking frantically between Yoda, Ben, and Jacen. "If the great Jedi Masters Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi came and taught the Jedi –"

"Taught them what? That Master Skywalker botched up the entire Order? That his teachings aren't good enough?" Jacen gestured to his Masters, "They would undermine every authority Uncle Luke has over the Jedi, and right now he seems to be one of very few people keeping a respectable face on the Order to the rest of the galaxy, not to mention keeping everything in check. That aside, how do you think the people of the galaxy would react to the knowledge that ghosts are running the Jedi Order? Jaina, it can not be let out that long-dead Jedi Masters can and have come back to teach people higher ways of the Force."

"Jaina, if it is any consolation to you," Obi-Wan said, "we could easily erase your memories of this event from your mind. It is a show of trust in you that Yoda and I appeared to show you our good faith."

Jaina nodded. "Ok, but I want to know everything. What you learned, who else you met up with and…Master Kenobi?"

"Please, Jaina, call me Ben."

"Ok, Master Obi-Ben," Jaina was still slightly bewildered. "Are there others? Others, like you, I mean."

"Some," Yoda replied, growing fainter. "But not a concern for the living, that is. Go we must, Young Solo. Mind what we have said, and to your little brother, you listen." By the time Yoda and Obi-Wan faded completely, all that could be heard was Yoda's crackling laugh as it, too, faded away.

"Well," Jacen started, but something on his sister's belt caught his eye, "Hey, is that my lightsaber?"

"Oh, yeah." Jaina unclipped the forgotten hilt and handed it to him. "That's why I came by, actually."

"Ah," Jacen clipped his lightsaber to his belt and continued. "Well, I can't tell you everything I learned as some can't even be explained, but I will tell you what happened. Five years ago, soon after I left the Jedi Order, I came across a cryogenic prison ship carrying Clone War enemies of the Old Republic…"

-! #$%^&*()

"Has he lost his mind?" Mara exclaimed even before the door to the apartment closed behind her. "Criticizing everyone and ordering you around? Who does he think he is?"

"He thinks we've grown complacent and need to be sparked into action," Luke said absently from in front of the glass door by the balcony without breaking his stare over the fields that extended to the horizon.

"Action? Jacen? Since when?"

"He's changed," Luke responded. "He's not a kid confused about the Force anymore."

"Yeah, but…" Mara stopped. "You agree with him."

Mara stepped up beside him and saw deep shadows of sad regret on his face. "I think we, no, _I_ made a few mistakes in rebuilding the Order. Decisions that may have seemed right at the time, but now look short-sighted and could open holes for us to fall through."

"And you think Jacen knows what the problems are? You think he knows how to fix it?" Mara demanded. The absurdity of this situation seemed to be overwhelming her. "Jacen, who hasn't even called in five years? Jacen, who has been Vader-knows-where around the galaxy _except_ in the Jedi Order? You think _he_ has the answers?"

"You think he doesn't?" Luke asked reasonably. He sighed and shook his head, looking down. "I don't know. All I know is he was right about one thing – there are Jedi that are getting arrogant, lazy, and stuck in their own little worlds. And we're falling apart, too. Maybe an outside perspective is what the Order needs. We've been rebuilding our numbers and our facilities for so long we've forgotten there's a galaxy out there that we should be serving. It's time we started to rebuild what it means to be Jedi."

Mara turned away and ran a hand through her red hair and squeezed it together at the top of her head for a moment as if she could squeeze out some inspiration. She let go after a moment, letting her hand fall away and her hair stayed slightly standing. "So he wants us to attack the Sith?"

"I don't know," Luke answered evasively.

"Does he want to lead the Order?"

"I don't think so."

"Are you going to stop sounding like you've been hit by a snowspeeder and start making some reasonable comments here?"

"What would you like of me, Mara?" Luke asked softly, finally turning to face her. "To blindly dismiss the criticism of one of my best students? To dismiss the thoughts of the person who could arguably be one of the deepest thinkers in the Jedi Order, who probably has the widest range of knowledge about the Force out of anyone in this galaxy? Or should I just follow him blindly on the off chance that he could be right?" He shook his head and turned to stare out of the room again.

"I need time to sort out my thoughts and consider…stuff."

Mara stepped up behind him and slipped her arms around his waist. "I'm sorry, Luke. Call me if you need someone to bounce your thoughts off of."

Luke squeezed her hands and said his thanks. She left the room in search of Ben, glancing back at Luke for just a moment. She could sense the weight of burden on his shoulders, but she also felt her own pride for his decision to face this crisis on his own. How many people would so willingly face their own mistakes, facing something that might destroy their life's work?

-! #$%^&*()

"There," Mara pointed at Ben's hiding spot behind a patch of tall grass.

"You peeked!" Ben exclaimed.

Mara pulled off the blindfold, and glared at her son. She was still frustrated from her argument with her husband, but she controlled her anger for the sake of her son. "Your jumpsuit makes a distinct noise against the grass."

"How did you hear that?" Ben pouted. It was his fifth attempt to sneak up on his mom in her training exercise, and his fifth failure.

So far Ben had stepped on dry branches, crept through a patch of weird pink flowers that made him sneeze uncontrollably, crunched dry gravel, and lost his footing on an incline to tumble a hundred metres down the embankment of the valley his mom was standing in. When she dismissed the minor cut in his leg as trivial and told him to start again, Ben realized she was serious about the exercise.

"You came at me from upwind," Mara explained. "Sounds travel in the wind. Back you go; try it again."

Ben moaned and trudged his way back up the incline to the tree his mom had designated as the starting point. All he had to do was sneak up and touch his mom without her knowing he was there and he would complete the exercise. Considering the training she went through for the same exercise, Ben was getting off light.

"Ready?" Mara called out.

"Yeah," Ben called back without even touching the tree. He crouched down and reconsidered his plan of attack. So far he tried going straight down the first three times, then he had tried going to the right down the beaten pathway. That was when he got spooked by a rodent and lost his footing, tumbling to the bottom of the valley. The second time he went to the right he successfully avoided the rodent, but the tall grass had given him away. Off to the left of the valley were many larger, unstable rocks. He still did not like the idea of going down there, as he was more likely to create loud noises traipsing over the rocks than the rustling grass. Ben wiped his forehead realizing just how hot the Ossusian sun was as it pound down on him from high above.

Suddenly a thought hit him. He took off his jumpsuit and retraced his way along the right path, careful to avoid the rodent nest. He walked carefully along the winding path, avoiding the tall grass, feeling it quietly brush along his bare arms and legs, and felt grateful for the gentle breeze cooling his skin.

_Yes!_ Ben thought as he reached the end of the tall grass where more loose gravel started. His mom was now twenty metres away looking the opposite direction. He silently took his boots off and tentatively placed one foot onto the gravel, slowly shifting his weight evenly onto his front foot. With aching slowness, he brought his other foot forward, gently laying it on the gravel and shifting his weight forward. Five minutes and ten metres later, he reached the hard soil his mom stood on, finally increasing his speed a bit. He carefully placed his foot around a tuft of grass, when his mom suddenly turned and faced him. He froze, eyes wide with shock, but no, she did not hear him! She was looking a metre to his right. Just as suddenly she looked backwards, she looked right, then left, and finally crouched down with her back towards Ben again intently listening for the slightest sound.

_She didn't hear you. She was only trying to scare you._ Ben told himself. _Just a little bit further…you can do this!_

He took another careful step, then another, then another…

_Almost there…_

"Gotcha!" Ben leapt at his mom, landing solidly on her back and tackling her to the ground.

"About time!" Mara exclaimed, rolling away from her son and pulling the blindfold off. Her grin could not have been wider. "I thought for sure you'd try going over the rocks next."

"Nah, it'd make too much noise," Ben said dismissively, recalling one of her first lessons. He got up and retrieved his boots.

"Smart move, losing the layers," Mara commented, unzipping her own jacket a third in response to the heat. "Adapting to the environment is just as important as learning how to hide yourself in the Force."

"Yes, mom," Ben drawled. "You've gone over this."

"I know," Mara said smartly. "Last time. Get back up there and try again, I want you to learn how to walk across those rocks, then I have something else planned for you."


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Eriana walked aimlessly around the corridors of the Jedi Academy while Jacen filled Jaina in on some of the finer details of their five year journey. Rather than wearing her usual garments which made her look more like a smuggler or pirate, she wore a simple Jedi robe of traditional Corellian Jedi design to try blending in with the Jedi around her. She always had a fondness for Corellia, and suspected she was from there. Her origins were unknown to her as she was taken from her home by the Jensaarai soon after she was born. Gone were the days when she wore her Jensaarai armour on a daily basis, adopting more practical attire for her training as a Jedi. The only time she now wore her armour based on a bha'lir was in battle. It was not out of hate for the armour or scorn for the Jensaarai that she rarely wore it anymore, she simply thought herself as less of a Jensaarai now. What she was, she did not quite know. Jacen considered himself a Jedi even after his unique learnings in the Force, so she did likewise.

However, as she walked among the students of the Jedi Order through the outdoor hallways connecting various buildings with arched covers, she felt more like a Jensaarai. These Jedi were nothing like the one she had become, the one Jacen and his Masters had trained her to become. They were so…_clueless_.

When she trained as a Jensaarai, from a young age she learned how to focus herself. To train herself to be as close to the pinnacle of human development as she could manage. Physically, mentally, emotionally…she challenged herself until she could control herself in all aspects from the tender age of eight – a remarkable feat even for a Jensaarai. This did not mean she was a statue of rock-solid emotional control, a droid without feeling. She merely did not lose control of herself easily. The more she trained one aspect of her self, the easier she found it to bring the other parts into alignment. When she looked at these Jedi trainees, they were emotional, ill tempered, or, in some amazing cases, overweight.

She watched as a boy about ten years old and fifty pounds too heavy for his frame throw a temper tantrum about a sugary snack he had dropped on the ground. Then she watched an Apprentice yell herself purple at his inability to control his emotions, causing the boy to wail all that much more.

_Oh, the irony, _She thought bitterly.

More amazing to her was the male Jedi Knight who walked past them wearing expensive clothing, hand-in-hand with one of the female administrative staff members, oblivious to the rampant display of unJedi-like behaviour.

_How did Jacen turn out so normal?_ Eriana thought to herself. Unsure how to proceed, she used the Force to spin the Jedi Knight around, and held his head staring towards the boy and Apprentice who were trying to out-shout each other. Finally the Jedi Knight approached the two, most likely from embarrassment with his date than out of any desire to help out, and Eriana slipped away unnoticed.

She walked along the pathways aimlessly until she came to the main physical training facilities. Her access card, a temporary Order membership at the rank of Jedi Knight upon Jacen's insistence, granted her access to these facilities. The Jedi had built a large square-kilometre state-of-the-art gymnasium facility with areas for everything from weight training to distance running, obstacle courses and, of course, lightsaber dueling. Eriana did not feel up to any training, but thought she would enjoy watching some training exercises.

She soon found out how wrong she was.

Two groups of Jedi were in the duelling area, an area of semi-soft blue mats with various markings to indicate ten different sparring rings. Of the two groups, one was a large group of students about twelve years old headed by an instructor not five years older than them, and the other was a small group of Jedi about the same age as the larger group's instructor with, judging by the cut of his robes, a Jedi Master teaching them. The technique being taught was one Eriana was familiar with, but looked like the Jedi Master was only half-taught it himself. Eriana recognized one of the older Jedi in the group and approached the training area to watch. Upon seeing Eriana, Nelani smiled and waved, nearly having her arm cut off by her opponent.

"Focus, Apprentice Dinn!" The Jedi Master shouted. "Stay focused on the fight, and do not allow your surroundings to distract you!"

"Is that wise?" Eriana, struck by sudden inspiration, called out as she continued her approach. She knew it was not her place to criticize a Jedi Master, but bad advice was bad advice. She had learned years ago to not perpetuate bad practice as it made for bad results.

"Of course it is!" The Jedi Master spat. "How could you even consider focusing on the enemy who is trying to kill you being a bad thing?"

"Perhaps when there is _another_ enemy trying to kill you?" Eriana asked pointedly, and tapped him on the head with the wooden staff she had levitated behind him. The students giggled at their Jedi Master's embarrassment. "You must live in the moment, but not get caught up in your senses."

Close enough to touch the Jedi Master now; she reached out with her hand. "Eriana Fostenon."

"_Jedi Master_ Kyp Durron," The instructor introduced himself with the arrogance of someone pronouncing himself 'Supreme Ruler of the Universe', and kept his arms crossed so he could not shake her hand. "I know who you are. Why are you interrupting my lesson?"

"For one, the techniques you're teaching these poor students are as technically perfect as a Hutt rolling competition," Eriana turned and watched the students from Kyp's side, seemingly oblivious to his anger. "Two, the lessons are worse than useless. And three, I'm bored."

She watched in silence for another moment, and then cheered up instantly. "Mind if I take over?"

"Yes!" Kyp exclaimed. "Get out of here! This is _my_ class!"

Eriana regarded him carefully for a moment. "Are all Jedi this hospitable?"

"No, just me," Kyp said irritably. "Are you going to leave, or do I have to remove you?"

Nelani, who knew of Eriana's prowess with a blade and her Force powers, stopped to watch. It did not take long for Kyp's entire class to follow suit.

Realizing she could teach a real lesson to an attentive group of students, not to mention an arrogant Jedi Master, Eriana decided to continue winding Kyp up.

"I think I'll stay right here," She responded with a goofy, insanely happy-looking smile. "Oh, look, your students seem to like me. Hi, everyone!" She waved to the students. Some waved back at her dully and others just stared at her with uncertainty.

"I've never had this big a class before," Eriana said with a big smile of false enjoyment. "Makes me feel important. Big warm fuzzy feeling right…"

"This is not your class!" Kyp shouted at her, turning heads from all around the training facility.

"Master Kyp, you have to control your anger," Eriana chided. "People might think you don't like me."

If the purple hue of his face did not indicate his true thoughts about her, the vein throbbing on his neck probably did. However, Eriana chose to ignore both.

"Well everyone, shall we get started?" Eriana said to the class, oblivious to the raging man behind her. "I noticed you're all working on Ataru, the fourth form, but you're all not jumping high enough to get the proper twist you need for this technique. It should be much more acrobatic than…" Her voice trailed off to the sound of Kyp's lightsaber igniting.

"Perfect!" Eriana exclaimed with false happiness. "A volunteer."

Nelani snickered, knowing Eriana really was not that dense. Eriana ignited her own blade and made to demonstrate her lesson.

"Get. Out. Of. Here." Kyp snarled behind clenched teeth.

"Oh, Master Kyp, is something wrong?" Eriana asked with false interest. Kyp responded by lunging into her with a strong overhead attack, but missed her entirely. She jumped clean over his head, flipping her head with her feet, and spun in mid-air to face his back, using the very technique his students were practicing – but she did it properly. The class broke into applause.

Kyp was not amused. He ignored his students and came in with a more calculated attack, feinting high, and striking low. Switching to Makashi, Eriana expertly parried his attack and came back with a pair of counter attacks that struck both arms in a flurry he neither expected nor saw, causing him to drop his lightsaber from the shock of the strikes. Luckily for Kyp, she had engaged the training setting. Kyp now saw a face made of space-cold durasteel staring back at him beyond the tip of the lightsaber blade pointed at his nose, not the goofy-looking imp he had originally taken Eriana as.

"And that," Eriana said with a voice as cold as her stare. "Is how you execute an Ataru single enemy twist-leap _properly_. Any questions?"

"Who are you?" an awed voice asked, evoking a laugh out of the former Jensaarai as she turned off her lightsaber and returned it to her belt.

"Class dismissed!" Kyp roared once he recovered from the shock. His glare was still on Eriana. The students left the training area, but Nelani waited out of earshot by the door for Eriana.

"Where do I start with you?" Kyp seethed, standing up. "What do I _do_ with you? You are a menace to this entire Order!"

"Well, for starters, I'm not part of this Order," Eriana said calmly. "Nor do I want to be with bantha fodder like you running this place."

Kyp's mouth hung open as if she slapped him. No Jedi Master deserved this. "How…? How _dare_ you speak to a Jedi Master in this manner?"

"Easy," Eriana replied. "You're no Master. You're a child in the robes of a man far greater than you'll ever be, wielding a weapon a trained primate could build and handle better than you. I'm surprised you haven't cut your own head off."

The bulging vein in Kyp's neck was back in action and was joined by one in his forehead, but Eriana did not stop there. She started pacing back and forth in front of Kyp. His every attempt to get away or attack her met with a suppressing restraint in a way he had neither the power nor skill to counter.

"Now, I'm certain your oversized ego is pulsing in anger at being bruised by a _lowly_ Jedi Knight who got kicked out of the Jensaarai, but I'm not done yet," Eriana said. "Oh, no, _Master _Durron, I'm not letting you get off that easily. You have much to learn about the ways of the Jedi."

Kyp made a motion to speak, but the unexpected strike to his thigh from the hilt of his fallen lightsaber turned his words into an unintelligible grunt and dropped him to his knees.

"Firstly, humility," Eriana started her lesson, orbiting his lightsaber around his chest a metre out of his reach. "Jedi Masters are not arrogant. They are not superior. They are _humble_ beings. They are _everyone's_ servants, not the other way around. Do you understand this concept, humility?"

"That's pretty rich, coming from someone lecturing me," Kyp growled while getting up slowly.

"Someone has to do it, and that Skywalker clown doesn't seem up to it," Eriana replied. "Next, _patience_…"

Eriana continued for another ten minutes lecturing Kyp on the fundamental basics of Jedi philosophy. From Nelani's vantage point it was a great show. Nearly a foot shorter than Kyp, Eriana made the taller Jedi look more the fool as time progressed even while looking up at him. His every word and his every attempt to get away were thwarted by this miniature tyrant. She even had an audience of Jedi Knights at one point, who were ordered off by Kyle Katarn as he put an end to her show.

"Master Durron, by the Force, what is going on here?" Kyle demanded.

"I was teaching him a lesson," Eriana said first. "But I think we're done here. Maybe we'll continue tomorrow night, _Mister_ Durron?"

"I will rip your…ARG!" Kyp grunted when his lightsaber hilt hit him for the thirtieth time on the exact same spot.

"_Anger_, young Durron."

"Miss Fostenon, what are you doing?" Kyle asked calmly. His anger was evident, but he controlled it.

_At least someone read the Jedi Handbook,_ Eriana thought. "I am teaching Kyppie here that he is an arrogant bully, and that he should really start to behave like a Jedi. I did hope that another Master would do it, but this entire Order seems blind about their own faults. Not an hour ago I had to literally force a Jedi Knight to stop an Apprentice from screaming herself unconscious at an overweight boy who was crying about candy. Can you even think of a more ridiculous situation at a school for Jedi? And would you care to guess about what he was thinking about when he blatantly ignored this situation? I think it had something to do with his girlfriend's pants! What sort of madhouse is this? What have you so-called Masters been doing while this once-great Order falls apart around itself?"

Both Jedi Masters were at a loss of words, and Eriana knew it. She turned and walked away without another word. Her lesson was complete.

-! #$%^&*()

Three hours later than scheduled, Leia's party finally sat before Los Othrul and Zeeal Antillies to discuss the situation plaguing Velmor and the Republic at a rickety old table in one of the few conference rooms still used in the Velmorian Palace.

"Prime Minister," Leia began, "On behalf of the Galactic Alliance, I wish to say how…"

"Save it, Leia," Los cut her off, dropping all formalities. "We both know you're here to tell us we can't get what we need, so forget about diplomacy and do me a favour: tell Cal Omas that Velmor is leaving the GA."

"Leaving?" Leia exclaimed. "Los, are you sure you want to do this?"

"Sure?" Los asked. "Be honest with yourself, Leia! The GA hasn't done a kriffin' thing for us in five years! I have a dozen financial reports telling me we're better off selling our own people into slavery in the Corporate Sector to buy equipment at ten times its value and starting over on our own. Our people are living in poverty. The government has failed us and can't commit to supporting us. What would you do as a leader?"

Leia sat back and regarded Los for a moment, then nodded. It didn't take a diplomat of forty years to recognize an unmovable wall.

"I will pass on your message. But please tell me one thing; where did the convoy in orbit come from?"

Los snorted a laugh and stood up.

"Get off my planet."


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"You have to be kidding me," Ben asked his mom, regarding his sparring partner with the look of someone expecting to wake up to reality at any moment.

"Your cousins trained with Noghri," Mara said reasonably. "Sirhka has honoured us by offering to train you in some hand-to-hand combat."

"The honour is mine, Lady and Lord Skywalker," Sirhka rasped.

"Ok," Ben squirmed at being addressed 'Lord' but otherwise said nothing. "What do I do?"

"Hit me with this, if you can," Sirhka handed Ben a foam padded staff.

Ben looked at the staff curiously and leisurely swung it at the Noghri's head, not wanting to hurt his partner. Sirhka merely stood there and stared at Ben as the staff hit her head with a soft thunk. Mara could not tell who was less amused.

"Ben, at least try to make an effort," Mara pleaded. "Sirhka won't do anything if she doesn't feel the need to."

"Fine," Ben pouted and took the staff two handed. He swung the staff above his head and tried to hit Sirhka on the left shoulder, but she suddenly disappeared and he went tumbling to the ground from his own momentum. His own momentum, and a gentle push on his shoulder from the Noghri who had side-stepped the attack.

"Attack again," Sirhka mewled as Ben pulled himself to his feet. Ben made a more calculated attack, swinging the staff from right to left, but without committing his weight to the attack. Sirhka jumped backwards, and quickly dodged his second attack meant to bop her on the head. Ben tried several other attacks, but each time the Noghri cleverly dodged the blows with no apparent effort.

"Stop," She hissed, holding out her paw for the staff. Ben gave it to her and waited expectedly.

"This is my first lesson," Sirhka said. "It is the most important of all. Tell me what it is."

"Umm, how to bop a Noghri on the head?" Ben asked.

"No," Mara groaned in embarrassment.

"The best defence is to not be where your attacker is," Sirhka growled. "I will now attack you, and you will not be where I attack."

"I thought you were going to teach me to fight," Ben argued. "This isn't fighting."

"You want to learn fighting?" Sirhka asked. She punched him solidly in the arm, causing him to cry out in pain. "That is a punch. Tomorrow I will teach you a block."

It took a moment for Ben to realize the vicious looking grin on the Noghri's leathery face was one of amusement as he rubbed the throbbing arm.

"This is more valuable than fighting," Sirhka rasped an explanation. "This will keep you alive so you can fight." With that, she took a swing at his head with the bat, and received a satisfactory hollow bang as it struck his ear.

"Ow!" Ben cried out, covering his ear with his hand. "That hurt!"

"Then don't get hit next time!" Sirhka exclaimed, and swung at Ben again. This time he dodged it – barely – and took a bop off his shin.

Ben grunted in pain, but finally started dodging the Noghri's attacks. Now that he had clued into the exercise, he started doing remarkably well.

"Good," Sirhka complimented. "Now I want you to counter attack. After I attack, you dodge and try to touch me. Lady Skywalker will demonstrate."

Sirhka turned to Mara and attacked without warning. She instinctively wove around the attack and tapped the Noghri's forearm.

"Your turn," Sirhka attacked Ben abruptly. More from jumping back with surprise than anything, he avoided the attack but did not retaliate. She performed several more attacks with increasing speed until he finally was able to tap her on the head once.

"Uh, oh," Mara said. Both Sirhka and Ben stopped their exercise and looked over to see Master Durron shouting at someone who was causing a class fall apart around him. "Oh well. Keep going."

Sirhka continued for another twenty minutes, teaching Ben various parrying techniques to go along with his dodging – or dancing, as Ben started to think of it as.

_If the Jedi host a ball, _Ben thought as he jumped over a low sweep, _I'll be all set for the first dance._

"You will speed up now," Sirhka announced. "Use what you know and improve on it as best you can."

She started attacking with increasing proficiency and accuracy, ramping up the speed until she was landing blows on his arms and chest and legs faster than he could dodge.

"Slow down!" Ben exclaimed, dancing around one of her attacks for every five she made.

"Speed up!" She called back.

Mara watched with mild fascination as Ben tried dodging the attacks. Sirhka was going slow for a Noghri, but Ben was still struggling.

"Ben, relax," Mara called out. "Tense muscles will only slow you down. Relax your body and go on reflex."

_Easy for you to say,_ Ben thought, and was rewarded by a shot to his head. He finally started to relax and increased his successful dodging rate by two blocks for every five attacks. He slowly improved, and finally started doing what Mara had hoped – using the Force.

Ben realized this, too, after he palmed the staff out of his way with perfect timing to send it flying across the hall.

"Excellent, Ben!" Mara exclaimed.

"No!" Ben shouted. "I know what you're doing, and you can't make me!"

Ben ran from the training centre without looking back. If he did, he would have seen his mom pull out her comlink.

"Incoming," She said with a smile.

-! #$%^&*()

"Sorry you had to witness that, Nelani," Eriana apologized as she approached the exit to the training facility. She glanced back at Kyp as he Force-shoved a rack of weapons across the room and launched a door off its hinges on his way out. "But you have some real nerf herders running this place."

"Tell me about it," Nelani agreed. "After leaving you and Jacen this place sometimes feels like an idiot factory some days. Care to take a walk?"

"I'd love to," Eriana said. "I heard there's a really nice garden around here but I can't seem to find it."

"This way," Nelani gestured. They walked in silence for a few moments until they found the garden and headed into it in a roughly eastern direction. Eriana took the time to regard the many beautiful flowers and shrubs growing around the garden, many from various distant planets.

"Eriana, why did Jacen send me here?" Nelani asked after a time. "I mean, its nice here and all, but…"

"We're better teachers?" Eriana supplied.

"Yeah," The willowy girl looked dismayed. "Jaina's great. She's obviously not as good with the Force as you guys, but she knows her stuff. And she's probably one of the more…_compassionate_ instructors around here."

"Nelani, there is something you need to understand." Eriana sat on a bench at the side of the path beside a cluster of flowers. "The work we were doing was…well, it was way too advanced for me sometimes and I had been training in the Force all my life. I could barely keep up at times, and there's stuff Jacen's learned that I, quite frankly, couldn't even pretend to understand if I wanted to. There was no way we would be able to train you on top of what we were doing.

"What you needed was a strong foundation in the Force and Jedi ideologies, which the Jedi Order and the Academy should _theoretically_ be able to provide. Unfortunately, as you can see, the whole system is...well, less than desirable in practice. I mean, the idea of taking fifty Jedi who each specialize in one field and getting them to teach in their specialty is a great idea. They obviously have some incredible knowledge to impart on their students based on what they're good at. But what if that specialty is fighting, not combat training? You can have the best fighter in the galaxy teach the most attentive students, but if he can't teach properly they won't learn.

"Likewise, you can take a dozen great Jedi who are powerful in the Force and put them in charge of an organization, but if they aren't leaders the herds won't be led. At first, everything looks great and dandy, but then people who are forced to do things they'd rather not be doing end up passing off substandard work. At that point everyone suffers."

Nelani thought for a moment and joined Eriana on the bench. "So, you're saying, the Jedi Order isn't being run as well as you thought it was when you sent me here?"

"Exactly," Eriana smiled bitterly. "At least someone around here has a brain."

"You really aren't impressed with the Order, are you?" Nelani asked with a trace of sarcasm.

"Nope. To listen to the way Jacen described it, it was a utopia for Force users at the end of the war. A well run organization, strengthened by the trials of war. But now they're…they're not real Jedi anymore."

"You think they're Sith?" Nelani asked, startled enough to pluck the flower she had just started to examine. Eyes wide with shock, she looked around frantically hoping nobody would notice, and quickly tossed the flower into the bush behind her.

"Oh, no, they're not that bad," Eriana said dismissively. "Not _yet_, anyway."

A few moments of silence sat between the two women. "What do you think the problem is?"

"Lack of leadership from the Council, not following Master Skywalker's example anymore, among other things. Skywalker's not doing a very good job training people to be leaders or creating a retirement plan," Eriana stopped for a moment. "And they seem too…in touch with their emotions. Everyone. It's almost like they only half-listened to Jacen before he left."

"Wow, I never noticed that," Nelani reflected. "Everyone does seem to be rather impatient and emotional. I always heard about Jedi calm and all, but the only people I really saw it in were some of the older students. Masters Skywalker, Horn, Katarn, Tionne, Kam, Jaina. And Lowbacca. He's great. Oh, Jacen, too, obviously. But he seems to use his emotions too, and doesn't get carried away with it."

"Well, yes, he does use his emotions. We both do," Eriana said with a smile. "I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but you might as well know so you don't fall into the same trap as the others around here. As Womprat says, we're 'Pulling a Bindo,' whatever that means. We control our emotions, like any good Jedi, but we also allow ourselves to use our emotions when using the Force to enhance what we can do. In order to do that without being consumed in the power one can generate through emotion-based Force usage, we guide our emotions. There is still a level of control and direction when we use our emotion that keeps us sane, that keeps our minds in perspective. This guidance seems to be absent in the Jedi around here. What they are practicing more closely resembles Sith ideologies with _no_ control. Obviously not to that extent, but sometimes they're not too far off."

Several more silent moments passed as Nelani digested this information. Eriana kept respectively silent, enjoying the sight of an entire bush of flowers that changed colour every few seconds.

"Jacen…did something at the end of the war, didn't he?" Nelani finally asked. "A fight of some sort. I heard Jaina mention it, but I don't know the details. She didn't want to discuss it."

"I really don't know," For once, Eriana seemed to be on unsteady ground. "He told me something amazing happened, some level of Force control and power beyond all others he ever experienced, but he's really quiet about it. I do know his love for his sister and his family was part of what got him through it."

"Jaina did say he refused help from her, that he did it alone," Nelani noted. "I wonder if the Jedi around here know anything about it."

"I suspect Master Skywalker does, but I'm not about to ask him," Eriana said. "Especially not after what I just did to one of his Masters!"

Nelani laughed, unable to continue her thoughts for a few moments. When the laughing subsided, she finally said what she wanted. "That's not what I meant. Maybe they know he learned how to control the Force in a powerful new way, and started imitating him without getting the full lesson."

"That's what I think," Eriana agreed. "It is very possible, indeed. Let's ask Jacen."

"Now?" Nelani asked, startled.

"Sure, why not?" Eriana stood up and looked around. "Which way was the landing pad?"

"Eriana, I want to ask you something," Nelani looked up at the older Jedi very seriously. "About Jacen."

"Oh, Nelani, I'm sorry," Eriana's face fell, already knowing the question. While they had planned their escape from the Sith camp five years previous, Nelani had developed strong feelings for Jacen. He was the first person she had ever truly come to respect after the horrors of living with the Sith. Unfortunately for her, he never showed any interest in returning those feelings, and the respectful manner in which he avoided the topic made her long for him even more. Eriana became Nelani's confidant during the short time they were together, and they had spoken of this topic before. "He hasn't mentioned you that way. At least, not to me."

Nelani sighed, and decided a blade of grass beside her foot was the most interesting thing in the galaxy to stare at.

Eriana put a hand on the younger woman's shoulder causing Nelani to look up at her. "Come on, cheer up. He doesn't tell me _everything_."

"Really?" Nelani asked. She found that hard to believe, considering how close the two Jedi were.

"Really, really," Eriana confirmed. "Do you think I'll _ever_ get the deactivation codes for Womprat out of him?"

Nelani laughed, standing up. "No, I suppose not. He is a bit of a pain though."

"A bit?" Eriana asked, not entirely sure who Nelani had referred to but decided it fit for either. "You weren't stuck with him on that bucket of bolts for five kriffin' years."

-! #$%^&*()

As they normally met every third day of the week, Jaina and Lowbacca played yet-another game of Dejarik in an otherwise empty common room. Seemingly out of nowhere, Ben came in full of tears and collapsed on Jaina's lap just as she defeated her friend.

[Care to play the loser?] Lowie asked Ben, who remained oblivious to what the towering Wookiee said.

"Lowie wants to know if you want to play a game," Jaina supplied, nudging Ben's face out of her shoulder where he dug it out of embarrassment.

"No." A muffled voice came from against Jaina's collarbone.

"Okay I guess I'll have to play another one. Yavin IV rules this time," Jaina said dejectedly, but winked to Lowie. A fangful grin showed he understood, and he reset the board for another match. The holographic creatures roared and shifted restlessly as the game station emitted its 'new game' tone.

"Losers first, Lowie," Jaina said, shifting herself under Ben's uncomfortable weight. Lowie made an obvious consideration, grumbled thoughtfully to himself, and finally moved his first piece.

Jaina quickly made her move, and waited politely for his. Again, he made a show of thinking about his move, finally making a strategically obvious move.

Jaina deliberated momentarily and made a rather foolish move. Lowie radiated a mixture of happiness and excitement through the Force.

"No!" Ben spun around, forgetting why he was crying and looking at the board. "Bad move, Jaina!"

Lowie and Jaina both faked surprise. "Oh, you're right!" Jaina exclaimed.

Lowie grinned, and took advantage of her move, capturing a valuable piece.

Jaina quickly made another move and Lowie transmitted his thoughts through the Force once again, making his plan blatantly obvious to anyone Force sensitive. Including a very stubborn one refusing to use the Force. As Jaina and Lowie had hoped, the messages were getting through to him on a near-conscious level.

"Don't take that one!" Ben shouted at Jaina, pointing to the holographic figure Lowie had just moved. His gambit was obvious, but Ben should not have been able to detect it without using the Force. They chose these specific rules today because Ben had never played it before.

"You're right," Jaina said, faking her surprise once again. "Ben, how are you doing this?"

"I don't know," Ben looked embarrassed and slid off Jaina's lap to play with some toys on the other side of the room. Lowie looked at Jaina meaningfully, and Jaina nodded at the board in return. They continued playing their game, broadcasting their thoughts, excitement, and disappointments as the game progressed. Once in a while Jaina noticed Ben look up suddenly when Jaina felt threatened or when Lowie became excited. A few minutes later after they had killed off the vast majority of their armies faster than either had ever done when playing for real, Jaina was about to make a critical mistake that would open herself to Lowie's endgame. Ben suddenly came tearing from across the room.

"NO!" Ben yelled, "The other way! Move to the other side!"

Jaina looked at Ben with her best impression of being startled. Lowie smacked his forehead and grumbled to himself his disappointment of his plan being foiled. Jaina grinned, following Ben's suggestion and winning the game for herself.

"How'd you do that, Ben?" Jaina asked, as Lowie stalked out of the room in false anger.

Ben took Lowie's seat and started scratching a paint chip on the game console with a fingernail. "I just knew…"

"That's the Force, Ben," Mara appeared at the door with a grin on her face. Ben looked up and saw his cousin and mother grinning broadly, and realized what had happened. Lowie came back with his own grin, chuffing of laughter.

"That…that was the Force?" Ben asked, utterly bewildered. "I thought it was just lifting rocks and playing with lightsabers."

"What do you think we've been trying to tell you, Ben?" Jaina asked. "Your powers are developing whether you want them to or not, and you need to learn how to control them. It's time you started your training."

"You tricked me!" Ben shouted.

"We sure did," Mara agreed, sitting down beside him and putting an arm around him. "But how would you like it if we taught you how to not be tricked anymore?"

Ben made some sort of non-committal grunt against his mom's shoulder.

"Great," Mara said. "Jedi Apprentice Ben Skywalker, on behalf of the Jedi Council, I present to you your Jedi Master."

"Jaina?" Ben asked hopefully.

"Nope," Jaina said. "Master Lowbacca."

Ben looked up at the Wookiee towering at twice his height, with a mixture of apprehension and excitement.

"But I don't understand Shyriiwook," Ben pouted, hoping he could still be paired with his cousin.

Lowie reached into a pouch, and produced a silver sphere that he released in mid-air. It looked like a training remote with extra sensor packages and a speaker, and floated just like one.

"I am Tee-Bee Ninety-Two, Human-Wookiee translations," The miniature droid spoke in a deep, almost bored voice.

Lowie barked at the droid, and it translated in its drawling voice. "It appears I am being given as a gift for a Ben Air Prancer. Is there a Ben Air Prancer to take possession of me?"

Jaina glared at Lowie who shrugged his confusion. "We'll work a few bugs out, Ben, but Tee-Bee will help you."

"Why are these humanoids speaking of me as if I am not here?" Tee-Bee inquired. "And where is this Ben Air Prancer?"

"I'm Ben _Skywalker,_" Ben spoke up, and the droid moved to hover a hand span from Ben's face.

"Oh, dear," The droid said melancholically. "I suppose every humanoid needs a droid."

Ben ran over to the raised window portal across the room and curled up against one side of the frame with his knees to his chest.

"Could I talk to Ben for a few minutes?" Jaina asked.

The three quickly left the room, Tee-Bee complaining about being mishandled in Lowie's furry paw, and Jaina walked over to Ben. She sat opposite to him in the curve of the window frame, but he stared out, adamantly avoiding her gaze.

"What's wrong, Benny?" Jaina used the nickname she always used to tease him with when he was younger, and he smiled a little bit.

"I don't wanna be a Jedi," Ben pouted.

"I think you just don't like Master Lowbacca," Jaina said wisely. "He is a little intimidating at first."

Jaina took Ben's silence as an unspoken agreement and continued.

"Did you know Master Lowbacca and I went to the Academy together back when it was on Yavin 4?"

"No," Ben finally looked over curiously. "I thought he was older than you."

"He is," Jaina said. "But Wookiees live longer than us and they become adults later in life. He wasn't allowed to leave Kashyyyk until he was nineteen. He's one of my best friends, too, you know."

Jaina reached over and put a hand on Ben's shoulder. "I know you're not too big on being a Jedi, and I know you're scared of Lowie. But we all have to grow up sooner or later. Your parents and I, we all just want what's best for you.

"I'll tell you what. I'll come to your lessons with Lowie. If you really don't like them, you don't have to do them."

"Promise?" Ben begged.

"Promise," Jaina smiled and pulled him into a hug. "Now for your first lesson as a Jedi: Let's go see if we can reprogram that droid."


	12. Chapter 11

Authors note:

Next week's chapter may be delayed due to some rethinking of one of the sub-plots of the overall storyline that worms its way back into this story. I hope to have all the issues sorted out before next Sunday/Monday, but right now I'm not making any promises. I'd rather edit before you all read it than later. Thanks to everyone posting reviews - they're very much appreciated. And here's 11...

* * *

Chapter 11

The scheduled meeting started twenty minutes late mostly due to continued arguments about Jacen's presence in the meeting and Eriana's display with Kyp the day before. Finally tired of the bickering, Jacen used the Force to muffle the voices of everyone present and project his own voice over the new found silence to request that they to stop doing the work of the Sith for them. He kept the Forced silence on them while Luke addressed the group, much to the dismay of many of the Council members.

"As you all know, we are here to discuss how we will proceed on our search for the Sith. After a brief discussion with the Jedi Council we have decided to break the galaxy into six parts as the focus of our search," Luke waved his hand, and a holographic representation of the galaxy appeared over the Council table while the lights dimmed.

Jacen stepped forward into the middle of the table and invoked noises of impatience and anger from the assembled Jedi. "Master, if I may, I have a different suggestion."

"Oh?" Luke asked inquisitively. He put on a good show, but he knew that Jacen had his own plan.

"As everyone here knows, Jedi have the ability to detect other Force users and disturbances in the Force," He started. "Why not use that ability to detect the Sith?"

Silence blanketed the room, so Jacen continued.

"You're obviously thinking something like 'Who has that kind of power to search an entire galaxy?' or 'That's impossible, who is this crazy nutter?'" Several chuckles broke out, but the room remained silent as he continued. "To answer the first question: Zonama Sekot and fifty Jedi ought to do it."

"What's the answer to the second question?" Someone who sounded very much like Corran Horn disguising his voice yelled out from the back, creating more laughs, and a smile broke on Luke and Jacen's faces. After the jest had left the room, a young master Jacen did not recognize asked "You're talking about that living planet, right?"

"Yes," Jacen responded, slightly annoyed that a friend of his was being referred to as 'that living planet.' "To us humanoids, we might be able to sense the presence of a Force user on a continent, or a planet if we're lucky. For Sekot, the galaxy is the relative size as a planet is to us. What I propose is that a group of us link with Sekot to search the galaxy for disruptions in the Force, or collections of Force users."

Several arguments broke out regarding the Sith being able to hide themselves and Jacen's sanity, but Jacen waved them off.

"At the end of the war, I was able to…" he struggled for the right words. "Reach a new level of awareness with the Force. Alone, it felt like the entire galaxy was mine to manipulate, to wield. With the help of Sekot, picking out a few Sith will be a cakewalk especially if they don't know we're looking. And only the Sith Masters might be troublesome to locate, but that's fine. We're not looking for a headcount: we're looking locations. Show me two Pada…Apprentices who can hide themselves from me in the Force, and I'll eat my lightsaber."

"Jazen, thiz iz crazy," Saba Seybatine commented. "Sekot may not have the control to do what you ask of her. Alzo, how would thiz affect thoze connected to her?"

"Well, presumably it could sever their connection to the Force by burning out all the midichlorians, but I can fix that," Jacen said dismissively. "But as for control, I was planning on doing the search myself. Using Sekot's power to boost my perceptions."

"Impossible!" Cilghal stood up abruptly. "Jacen, this is madness! The human brain can _not_ handle that much information. You're talking about retaining a galaxy's worth of information. How could you possibly handle that? And sensory overload is only the beginning! That much raw power going through you would fry you just like it did twenty years ago to Dorsk 81! Don't forget, he only had a dozen Knights behind him, not fifty Jedi and a _planet_."

Murmurs of agreement broke out around the room. Jacen caught his sister's eye and saw a glint of fear.

_What is she afraid of?_ Jacen wondered.

"I don't need to retain all the knowledge, just a little bit. A handful of planet names, maybe a few names or faces of the Sith. Spatial co-ordinates or landmarks. The vast majority of it would be forgotten faster than one of Aunt Mara's recipes out of sheer necessity. But, that's why I need more Jedi than just Eriana and myself. I need enough processing power to handle this information without getting damaged. As for pure power," Jacen paused. "Dorsk 81 was a great Jedi, but his training was limited. I think I know more than he did when it comes to using this much power.

"I do agree this plan is not without risks. However, I alone will be taking those risks, and everyone else will still be able to carry out whatever plan is determined in the rest of this meeting." Jacen turned to face Luke. "I have discussed this plan with Sekot through Danni, and Sekot is willing to go through with this. We believe our best chances are to move Sekot into the Core, and to have no less than fifty of the most Force-sensitive Jedi included. I have already prepared a list of fifty first choices, and fifty backups, based on the records in the Jedi archives and my own personal research around here. Of course, I would like to take only willing volunteers, but the more there are the better my chances of success will be." He floated a datapad across the table to Luke.

"As for the backup plan," Jacen continued without pause. "I believe it wise to focus our search on the Unknown Regions first, as there are many pockets that are uncharted even by the Chiss. I suggest those with good relations with both factions of the Chiss, like maybe both Master Skywalkers, Saba, and Danni Quee, should try to make contact with them to see if the Ascendancy has noticed anything out of the ordinary. At the same time, search teams of six Jedi should continue the search to planets, and areas that might contain planets.

"Next, the Core should be searched, as the stars can make things difficult to locate in there. I came across some maps that should help. Wild Space, and the various arms of the galaxy should be searched out after the core, again in teams of six or more…"

"Jacen," Luke interrupted. "This is a discussion, not a dictation."

"True," Jacen admitted. "But nobody seems to object so far."

He continued on for another ten minutes laying out a general search pattern, then the Jedi Council agreed to allow Jacen to pursue his idea with Zonama Sekot, dependant on volunteer willingness. After a few suggestions to modify Jacen's plan, he left for a brief time to contact Danni on the surface of Zonama. When Jacen returned, the Jedi Masters were dismissed and the Council alone was in session to determine who would be searching where. He found Jaina and Corran Horn discussing the contents of a data pad in the small courtyard just outside the Council Chamber.

"Why would he want…Oh, hi Jacen!" Jaina seemed slightly embarrassed at her brother's sudden appearance.

"Hey Jacen," Corran greeted Jacen with a slap on the back.

Jacen merely nodded to them and said, "To answer your question, I want Master Skywalker, Eriana, and you two here on Ossus so the students are well protected. And on a side note, I want everyone to stop thinking I made these plans over a case of Whyren's Reserve and glitterstim. It took Eriana, Womprat, and I the better part of a week to map out a course of action we felt comfortable bringing before the Council."

"Ouch," Corran said. "Y'know, it wouldn't hurt if you were a bit nicer about it, Jacen."

Jacen nodded in thought for a moment and said, "Yes, it probably wouldn't, but we won't have time for 'nice' when the Sith are in orbit asking us to courier them our scalps. Personally, I'd prefer to deal with them somewhere away from the hundred or so kids running around here."

"A _week_?" Jaina asked after a moment of thought. "You just found out about the Sith two _days_ ago!"

"Time is…" Jacen's careful answer was cut off.

"And how, exactly, do you expect to 'deal' with these so-called Sith, Jedi Solo?" A voice interrupted from behind Jacen, causing him to wince. He didn't have to see the face to know it was Waxarn Kel, a Jedi Knight who nearly died in the Vong war and was left with a scarred reminder on half his body. A strong advocate of using lethal force against opponents, he was often morally opposed to Jacen's more passive ideologies. Several bitter arguments broke out during the Vong war between Jacen and Kel about the proper way to deal with the Vong. It always irked Kel that Jacen was right at the end of the war, though Jacen did not care. It was more Kel's insistence that Jacen was wrong that annoyed him more than anything.

"I was thinking of buying them off with the Council's holdings in Fizzy Pop shares, and converting them to Foundationism with the request for penance dependant on their hierarchical rank," Jacen said as seriously as he could. Jaina and Corran were quiet behind him, but he could sense them both stifling snickers. "But I'd settle for a lifetime promise of never touching the Force again, and getting my boots polished once a year."

"Now, Jedi Solo," Kel said in a condescending manner, "That's no way to talk to a Jedi Master, now is it?"

"If I were talking to a Jedi Master, it wouldn't be," Jacen looked him square in the eye. "But you…"

He let his words drift off, turning back to his sister.

"Want to get some lightsaber practice in?"

"Sure!" Jaina said, glad to find a reason to get Jacen away from Kel. Dislike of him seemed to run in the family. "Master Horn, would you care to join us?"

"You can count on it," Corran said, visibly relieved. Perhaps dislike of Kel was a Corellian thing. He spotted Kyle Katarn across the courtyard talking to Jaden Korr. "Hey, Kyle. KYLE! MASTER KATARN! Saber practice."

"I'll be there," Kyle called back, signalling with a thumbs up.

The Corellians left Kel behind to stew in his maltreatment.

"He wasn't actually promoted, was he?" Jacen asked when they were out of earshot. "That guy's so vicious he could make Palpatine blush."

"The Jedi Council believed it important to take into consideration all viewpoints when selecting Masters," Corran said dutifully. He was careful not to flavour his words with any emotion. "And he's not too bad with a lightsaber," He finished thoughtfully.

"Lightsaber mastery alone does not make a Jedi," Jacen shook his head. "Whoever got that impression into their head needs a new one."

"Says the person who tried getting away from him through a duel with his sister," Jaina elbowed him lightly in the arm.

"At least I don't sleep with my lightsaber."

"I thought that was the first rule for a Jedi," Corran interrupted. "Always sleep with your blade nearby. Preferably under your pillow."

"Yes, Corran, under your pillow," Jacen glanced back at Kel, "Not under your sheets."

-! #$%^&*()

"Leia! Over here! Quick!"

Leia looked away from her inspection of the _Falcon_'s landing gear in her pre-flight checklist and saw a hooded figure behind another ship's landing strut nearby. Her mind still reeling from the brief meeting with Los Othrul, she found herself easily distracted from the inspection. A quick wave of its hand urged her to come over. She sent a message through the Force to Tresina inside the _Falcon_ and cautiously approached the hooded man with her hand near her lightsaber.

"Los?" Leia asked when she recognized the face.

"Shh!" Los Othrul whispered to her. "I have to talk quickly. I didn't have a choice. They've been muscling me into it for years, forcing me to make things worse. I couldn't help it!"

"Help what?" Leia touched his shoulder and applied the Force to him, trying to calm the man down.

"The Mandalorians!" Los replied. "They want to break up the Galactic Alliance by creating dislike of the Jedi. They want to use Velmor as a catalyst, so they sent us the convoy as a bribe. They're allied with the..."

Los reached to his throat, gasping for air while Leia looked around frantically trying to figure out what was happening.

"The S...Si..."

Los Othrul's eyes bulged one last time before his lifeless body fell to the ground.

"It is a shame he had to be so brave," A menacing, yet familiar, voice came from inside the ship above Leia. The image of Jacen ferociously beating Luke appeared in her head again as a hooded figure dropped out of an access hatch and ignited a red lightsaber. She stumbled back at the memory, shaking her head as if to fling it away. "And a greater shame for you that he told you. We did not expect our puppet to be so bold."

Leia pushed the image aside and focusing on the threat with great effort and drew her lightsaber. She could sense Tresina nearby waiting for an opportunity to come to her student's aid, so she started backing away from the lightsaber-wielding man towards the _Falcon_.

"Who are you?" Leia called, trying to keep the assassin interested. The voice was so familiar, but different. Much deeper and calmer than she remembered it.

"You know who I am," The man replied. "I am Sith. Once you are dead, even that will not matter to you."

_Why is Han _always_ right?_ Leia thought.

The Sith leapt forward with a Force enhanced jump and Leia jumped high in a backward summersault to land on top of the _Falcon_'s right cargo prong. Barely pausing, the Sith jumped after her, cowl falling down and revealing the face of Zeeal Antillies. He spun into a combination of attacks meant to throw Leia off guard and overpower her, but she deflected them and backwards to the other prong, binding their blades on his last strike over the gap between the ship's mandibles.

Zeeal sneered at her over the cross in their blades. "The Jedi's days are numbered, and this pitiful Galactic Alliance will soon fall to the Sith!"

"Maybe," Leia conceited. "But not today."

A deafening shockwave tore between Leia and Zeeal as Zeeal's arms and lightsaber disappeared in a flash of light. Leia and Zeeal collapsed away from each other to the hull of the _Falcon, _Zeeal staring in shock at the partially cauterized stumps of his arms.

"Don't you _dare _bleed on my ship, you traitorous scum!" Han shouted from the ascending top-hatch elevator, blaster in hand. He fired a warning shot at Zeeal's head that glanced off the thick hull plating. "Off!"

The blaster bolt jarred Zeeal to his senses, making him suddenly realize the danger he was in. He spun in a Force-assisted roll until he fell off the edge of the _Falcon_'s prong, then sprung up over the wall of the landing pad in a single bound.

"Twitchy little guy," Han remarked. "Never liked him. Are we going after him?"

"I will," Tresina appeared behind Han. "You two must leave immediately."

"Master, we can't leave you here," Leia protested. "We stand a better chance of stopping him together."

"I will be fine, Leia," Tresina assured her. "I do not intend on confronting him, only following. You must go. You are far too recognizable to stay and someone must report on this new threat."

She walked to the edge of the _Falcon. _"I will be in touch. May the Force be with you."

"Hey, T," Han called.

Curiously, Tresina looked at him over her shoulder, wondering what criticism he might offer.

"Nice shot."

She smiled slightly before jumping over the wall in pursuit of Zeeal.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"This is outrageous!" Kyp yelled after slamming the Council chamber doors shut. "How does that kid think he can come here and tell us what to do?"

"I didn't see you with any ideas," Kenth Hamner replied evenly as Kyp took his seat. "It looks like Jacen knew exactly what he was talking about. Saves us a lot of time planning, if nothing else."

"You agree with him?" Octa Ramis asked in disbelief. "Solo's not even a Jedi Master. He shouldn't be part of these discussions. I don't even know why the entire Master assembly was here! These are _Council _issues!"

[Just because he is not a Master does not mean he is not useful,] Lowbacca replied. [His plan is wise, and we would be wise to listen to him.]

"That's true," Kenth agreed. "We wouldn't even have thought of his plan to search for the Sith using Zonama Sekot."

"It sounds like a deathtrap for anyone who follows him," Kyp responded. "Even if there are Sith on the loose, of which we have only Jacen's guess that they even exist, there's no telling that his idea will do anything except get himself and everyone on that planet killed."

"That is a distinct possibility," Cilghal said reluctantly. "However I have to admit, with more Jedi there his chances of success will be higher. It theoretically _is_ possible that Jacen's plan will succeed."

"Well then, why doesn't the _entire _Order go along with Super Jacen?" Kyp asked sarcastically. "This is a bad idea. Besh – Aurek – Dorn. Bad."

[I think we know the spelling of the word, Kyp,] Lowie growled sarcastically. [But we have to consider that Jacen might be able to pull this off. As he said, he's the only person who knows the full extent of his capabilities, and Sekot certainly thinks it's possible. Who could be more knowledgeable about the galaxy than a sentient planet?]

"It's still a bad idea," Kyp said miserably, taking his chair and crossing his arms. "And I'm not going along with it."

"Me, neither," Octa agreed.

"Well, it's not fool proof. That much is for certain," Kam Solusar replied. "But I thought we were discussing resource deployment for the search pattern, not Jacen's unorthodox ideas. The decision has already been made for Jacen to proceed with his plan. This discussion is over."

"Thank you, Kam," Luke finally spoke. He keyed some information into the datapad in front of him and activated the holoprojector in the room. "Here's the list of Jedi. Let's get started."

-! #$%^&*()

From the Private Journal of Jedi Master Jacen Solo

=With comments by B. Wrarm, Jedi Librarian=

=Approximately 35 years after the Battle of Yavin, Three Days after Master Solo returned to the Jedi Order=

They bought my idea to use Sekot to search the galaxy for the Sith.

=Pause=

=Near shouting= How in all nine Corellian hells am I going to pull this off without killing myself? Are they _nuts_?

=Normal voice= If this doesn't kill me, Eriana will. She told me not to even try to mention it, even though we planned it out. It was one of those ideas we brainstormed that we had to exclude for obvious reasons, but it did seem somewhat viable. I thought I'd throw it out there just to see how they'd react to it, but they actually went for it. That'll show me not to push people around.

=Deep sigh=

I have to talk to Sekot again.

=End=

-! #$%^&*()

Eriana and Womprat were at the sparring area in the expansive training facility when Corran and the Solos arrived. Judging by the lack of sweat on Eriana, she had spent more time yelling at Womprat than training.

"Just turn the bloody things on!" Eriana screamed in desperation.

"Statement: I fail to understand how meatbags think yelling at me will fix the alignment problems," Womprat replied.

"There aren't any alignment problems," Eriana said exhaustedly. "For the fiftieth time, I checked the programming myself!"

"Condescending statement: But you are a meatbag, and are unable to grasp the higher functionality of the utopian dream of droid programming."

Spotting Jacen, she sprinted over to him and grabbed him by both arms. "Jacen, fix that droid, or so help me I will ram my lightsaber through him! He's been messing around with my remote synchronization program for the last three hours!" Her eyes were wide and her breathing was short and furious.

Womprat, also spotting Jacen, decided the program was fixed and activated the thirty remotes. "Prognosis: All systems operational, Master."

"There you go," Jacen smiled. Womprat never disobeyed Jacen, but enjoyed bothering anyone else he could. Her idea to use his advanced combat analysis functionality to tie together multiple training remotes for advanced blaster deflection training had been resisted at every stage of development, from missing datapads to data that mysteriously deleted itself upon upload.

"I'm going to kill that droid one of these days," Eriana muttered, stalking off to her training circle.

"Where shall we begin?" Jacen looked to his sister and Corran.

"Hang on a minute," Jaina interrupted. "Didn't she just tell a bunch of Jedi off for losing control of themselves?"

"Yes," Jacen said, looking at Eriana as she started the first level of her training program. Her deflections were already faster than the unaided eye could see, but still barely testing her mastery of Soresu. "Don't let that little outburst deceive you. She's normally quite calm."

"Little outburst?" Jaina said incredulously. "Jacen, that's very hypocritical…"

"She's not normally like that," Jacen cut her off, looking his sister in the eye. "Womprat has a way of getting under her skin. Everyone's skin, now that I think about it. Even…some Jedi Masters I know can't tolerate him at times. If I had a credit for the number of times Astro tried taking a bite out of Womprat… Honestly, Jaina, the only times I've ever seen her get this angry have been around Womprat. She's very level-headed. And besides, it's not like she _acted_ on that anger. Yelling at Womprat is just a release valve for her. How could you compare that to what Kyp did when he lost his temper?" He pointed at the mangled door propped up against the wall beside the frame it once hung on.

Unconvinced, but unwilling to argue further, Jaina walked onto the training mat and started stretching. Corran and Jacen joined her while waiting for Kyle to arrive. A few moments later he came in, cursing Kel's name and they stretched for another five minutes. When they were ready for light exercises, Jaina gave Jacen a training collar for his lightsaber which was designed to diffuse the power of the lightsaber so only light burns would be received from an errant strike. He did not tell her he already had such a feature designed into his lightsaber, and affixed the collar. The other Jedi did likewise, and Jacen activated the training mode should the training collar not work on his alien design.

Jacen did not train to his full potential, allowing himself to relax and judge the skill of his opponents while making mistakes to see how many were noticed. He was disturbed to see how few mistakes were caught. Through the basic exercises, he noted that Jaina's motions were much more fluid than their last fight and that her skill with the blade had improved considerably. She also seemed a much calmer and, therefore, a more intelligent fighter now that the weight of the war had been lifted from her shoulders. He had also not seen his sister this focused in the Force since they were on Yavin IV. Corran and Kyle had also improved, though their skills had always been far more developed than the twins' skills thanks to their age. Jacen noted they were only marginally better, but still in excellent form. Thanks to the past five years involving countless hours of training with some of the greatest duelers of the Old Jedi Order, Jacen judged himself to be in a category beyond his current opponents. After twenty minutes of drills, they began sparring with each other.

"Master of the Mat," Jaina had called it. The concept of the game was that whoever won a match would stay in and fight the next fresh opponent. The person would stay in the ring until defeated, or everyone got tired of the minor burns from diffused lightsaber blows. A blow landed to the chest or head or two limbs being "lost" constituted a victory.

"Age before beauty," Jacen gestured to Corran and Kyle, indicating they should start.

Kyle started for the ring, but Corran did not move.

"I'm more beautiful than anyone here," Corran said indignantly, hiding his smirk as only a former Rogue could. Kyle rolled his eyes.

"Get over here, Princess Horn," He used the Force to pick Corran up and levitate him to the middle of the sparring ring.

"Hey, no telekinesis on the deficient Jedi!" Corran called to his friend.

Kyle ignited his lightsaber in response and Corran followed suit. They tapped blade tips together as a sign of respect and returned to their guards. Jaina called "Begin!" and Corran attacked with a strong, fast downward blow meant to split Kyle from head to groin, but Kyle caught the blade above his head and sent a front kick to Corran's gut. Corran rolled to his right with the kick causing most of the force to slide past him and flicked his blade towards Kyle's left ear while regaining his balance. Kyle deflected the attack easily and came across with a strike towards Corran's left shoulder.

Jacen examined the style of the two Jedi Masters and was surprised at how similar they fought. Both fighters improvised constantly, mixing parts of various forms rather than sticking to one, and used their well-honed reflexes to make up for their unorthodox fighting styles. In the end, Kyle "cut" Corran in half across the chest using a well-timed diversionary kick to the knee. Jaina was next, as Jacen pointed out according to his initial selection model.

"See if I get you a life day present," She gave him a nasty look and stuck her tongue out at him, but grinned broadly as she took her place in the sparring ring. The match took a minute, and Jaina won. Kyle was distracted from being hit by one of Eriana's errant training bolts in the back of the head, allowing Jaina to skewer him through the heart. Kyle and Jacen traded places. Jacen stood in front of his sister and took a few deep breaths to centre himself. He already knew how Jaina would fight, what moves she would make, and how easily he would defeat her. So he decided to have some fun.

"Tell you what," Jacen said to her, pulling a strip of dark black cloth out of his robe. "I'll try it blindfolded."

He tied the cloth around his eyes and stared at his sister.

"Your funeral," She replied.

Ten seconds later her unlit lightsaber hilt was flying across the gymnasium and she won a nasty red welt across her neck.

"Well done," Jacen said. He called the soaring lightsaber to his hand and tossing it back to his coughing sister. "You lasted longer than I expected. Corran?"

Five matches later Jacen intentionally lost to give his friends a chance to fight each other. As he massaged the burning patch on his ribcage, he pushed the blindfold up and glanced over to see how Eriana's training was going. He was rewarded by the sight of a blurry gold ball of light that Eriana had become as she deflected over a dozen blaster bolts a second with her lightsaber. Apparently Womprat had decided that taking a free chance at trying to hit her with a plethora of blaster bolts was preferable to continually annoying her, and was steadily pushing her to her limits without mercy. Jacen doubted he himself could keep up with the speeds she was currently moving at, but made a mental note to try the deflection program at some point. While he had focused on learning the ways of the Force during his journey, Eriana had focused on mastering the lightsaber. As a result, she was a marginally better fighter than he was, but he could still hold his own against her. He turned his attention back to the game to see Kyle and Jaina throwing absurd, playful insults at each other as distractions while Corran threw fuel onto the fire from the sidelines.

"Don't forget that time he called you 'Jaina the Hutt!'" Corran called out.

"That was you!" Kyle responded, but took advantage of her shock to sweep her legs with a high feint and low strike.

"I was half tempted to invite the pretty blonde," Corran said to Jacen as Kyle helped Jaina off the mat. "But now that I see her fighting those remotes, I'm glad she's over there!"

"Just be thankful she didn't hear you call her 'the pretty blonde,'" Jacen said with a grin. "The last guy who did picked his teeth off the ground."

Fifteen matches later Eriana won the tournament as she showered a twenty metre radius around her with a spray of high-intensity miniature blaster bolts that would have put a Star Destroyer's fire rate to shame. Corran and Kyle retreated to the sonic showers while Jaina stayed behind to talk to Jacen after he used the Force to shut Eriana's training program down. Eriana immediately went to the diagnostic screen to see what had happened.

"Where did you learn how to fight like that?" Jaina asked her brother, creating small puddles of sweat on the floor as droplets dripped from her face.

"Obi-Wan," Jacen said silently. "That was only Soresu."

"Soresu? The third form?" Jaina asked. "We've been learning it from one of Uncle Luke's books, but it doesn't look anything like that!"

"That's because what you've been learning is not Soresu," Jacen replied, returning the settings on his lightsaber to normal and removing the training collar. "It is a butchered form learned from a book by people who don't know any better. Obi-Wan was arguably the best practitioner of Soresu the Jedi Order ever knew. Comparing a lesson from him to those records Uncle Luke found years ago is like comparing a rancor to a mynock for bone structure."

"Hey Jacen!" Eriana's voice called from behind the twins as she approached. "What'd you think of the training program?"

"Looked great – I can't wait to try it!" Jacen said enthusiastically. "But next time pick a droid that doesn't want to kill you."

"Bucket of bolts," She grumbled. "The synchronization routine I made increased the difficulty significantly, but that mobile garbage can overrode all the safeties." Several small burn marks still ejecting small wisps of smoke from her training outfit emphasized her point. "All in all, I think it was a success."

"Great," Jacen said, calling one of the remotes to his hand and inspecting it. "And if the Jedi Order ever needs a missile defense system, I'll let them know you're available for hire."


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

At the sound of the door chime Cal Omas looked up from the sheets of flimsy on his desk. He pulled his head off the hand it was resting on and noticed a few strands of white hair between his fingers. He looked at them thoughtfully for a moment, reflecting on how old he felt, and finally shook them off beside his desk.

"Come in," he called, and was welcomed to the sight of Leia Organa Solo.

"Leia, I'm glad to see you've returned safely!" Cal smiled warmly. "I heard your mission to Velmor didn't go well."

"Hardly," Leia said bitterly as she dropped into a comfortable chair in front of his desk. "We were insulted, banned from the planet, and thrown out. And that's before the Sith Lord tried to kill me."

"A Sith Lord?" Cal exclaimed. "Leia, surely you are mistaken. Luke has assured me repeatedly that the Sith are all dead."

Leia produced a datacard from her coat pocket and tossed it on his desk.

"This contains a recording from the _Falcon_'s external sensors, and my official report."

Cal took the datacard and placed it into a slot on his desk. A moment later a two-dimensional image appeared showing the gruesome death of Los Othrul followed by Leia's battle with Zeeal Antilles.

"I see," Cal sat back in his chair pensively.

"Los gave his life to warn me about the Sith," Leia said meaningfully. "We should be careful how we proceed."

"I agree," Cal said. "Have you discussed this with your brother?"

"I sent him a copy of that datacard as soon as we arrived here."

"Good," Cal sat up and started reading through the second file on her datacard.

Leia glanced at several of the sheets of flimsy on Cal's desk while he read. One memo caught her eye.

"'Regarding Assassinations, Kidnappings, and Gouging'?" Leia asked.

"Sorry?" Cal asked, distracted by her report at first, but slid the appropriate document across to her. "Oh, yes. Intelligence report. I suppose you've dealt with stuff like this anyway; no need to hide it from you. Force knows you may be better able to handle this than I. In summary, we've had three senators; all who were very vocal about restoring several traditional manufacturing planets that have gone missing. Only one of their bodies has been found and it was…not a report I intend to look at again, much less share. Various senators have also reported kidnappings, black mail, and as you can see, the list goes on. Price gouging for resources is merely the tip of the proverbial ice berg."

"There is also a noticeable increase in Mandalorian activity throughout GA worlds," Leia noted as she skimmed the report.

"Yes. And it's all being carefully hidden from the galaxy at large by the senate," Cal sat back again. "There have been many closed sessions of senate that have not made it to the Holonet. Between 'Jedi assassins' and the resource problems, a bombshell like this report would fracture the Alliance entirely. Trust between all parties will be lost entirely. As you know, it is one thing for the senators to be upset at each other, but entirely different for populations."

"Do we know who is behind these attacks?"

"No," Cal said bitterly. "I suppose our best guess right now is the Sith, though we have no evidence to support it except for your attack. Realistically, it is likely a few of the senators of disadvantaged planets are attacking the advantaged. I really can't see why anyone else would want to get involved in these politics."

A chime rang from Cal's desk and a button lit up. He pushed the button and the voice of his secretary came out of his desk.

"Chief Omas, there is an announcement from the planet Velmor on the Senate Holonet Channel you should see."

Cal cued the appropriate channel on to the wall holo display and turned to see Zeeal Antilles making a public address.

"…guarantee Jedi Leia Organa Solo's assassination of Los Othrul will not go unpunished as we seek out independence from the abusive Galactic Alliance!"

A roaring crowd of Velmorians responded to his words, and the picture changed to the face of a young female reporter.

"That was the scene in Del Velmor an hour ago as the former Deputy Prime Minister Zeeal Antilles explained his ascension to Prime Minister after the untimely death of the late Prime Minister Los Othrul. Jedi spokesperson Master Kenth Hamner denies the alleged assassination, citing former Chief of State Organa Solo was on a diplomatic mission from the Senate. Many planets already displeased with the Jedi have expressed outrage about this unprovoked attempt to strong-arm a planet into remaining in the GA. The autopsy on Los Othrul indicates he was choked without any signs of physical contact, a method once believed to be used by Darth Vader when executing disobedient officers. Leaders from other planets that have previously expressed their distaste of Cal Omas' handling of the resource crisis have started discussions about leaving the…"

Cal shut off the display and looked at Leia with a mixture of anger and disbelief. Leia merely sighed.

"At least she did a good job of dissuading everyone about your involvement," He said sarcastically.

"I did expect this: It's not like the Jedi can deny I was there," Leia said wryly. "Cal, Han and I believe the Sith planned this to set the Jedi and the Alliance off balance for takeover."

"Takeover?" Cal asked. "We just finished a war. Can't they wait ten years for my retirement?"

"It always seems that way, doesn't it?" Leia smiled weakly at his joke, and then stood up. "I must be going. Luke has asked me to visit the Jedi Temple to ensure some equipment is being encoded properly. I should be there for a week before returning to Ossus. That's where Luke will be coordinating our efforts, and I'll be of more use there. I suggest you check out the last file on that datacard. I drafted a speech for you."

"Thoughtful as ever, Leia," Cal smiled warmly. "Thank you. May the Force be with you."

-! #$%^&*()

The main training facility on Ossus shone like a beacon into the night sky. Normally never used during the night, the bright lighting escaped through the expansive skylight illuminating the fog that had moved in hours previously. From a distance it appeared that a massive phosphorescent bug had replaced the Jedi complex, but the inside of the building was lit bright as day to accommodate the occupants at a time it was rarely used. This particular night was the perfect time for Jacen and Eriana to spar in secret, as they were two of only four people who had access to the facility for several hours.

Jacen and Eriana often sparred to hone their skills, but they never fought each other with witnesses. The ferocity of their battles was not something they wanted anyone to see as the depths of Vaapad they fought with scared even themselves at times.

When they sensed others approaching, they quickly slowed their pace and eased out of Vaapad and switched to a simple Makashi routine. A few moments later, Luke and Mara appeared at the main entrance. They locked the door and walked over to where Jacen and Eriana were finishing their routine.

"Hello," Jacen said, bowing to Eriana. She returned the bow, and then called a towel to her hand to wipe off the sweat on her face.

"Hi," Mara said. Luke merely nodded. "So Luke tells me you have something new to show us?"

"Yes," Jacen replied. "Vaapad."

"Ah," Mara nodded. "I've heard of it, but all I know is that Palpatine feared it. I also know he killed the last person alive who mastered it."

"That person didn't die," Jacen said simply. "He survived his encounter with Palpatine and escaped. I met him a couple years ago, and he helped me with my training before he died. But what is most important is that he was not the first to teach it to me. A clone of an old friend of his, Soora Bulq, was the first. Soora's as corrupt as they come. I believe he is behind some of the political manoeuvring we are seeing in the galaxy, as well as the Mandalorian expansion. And I also believe he is creating an army of Sith to fight us with."

"And training them in Vaapad," Luke finished. "Is there anything more you can tell us about it?"

"Vaapad is just a nickname given to the seventh form of lightsaber combat. There always was a seventh form, but it died out long before Mace Windu, my instructor, invented Vaapad," Jacen explained. "Like the other six basic forms, it has signature moves, but it really is a combination of all the lightsaber forms. The key to Vaapad, what Mace believed was missing from the original form, is the state of mind the user enters and using all the forms simultaneously to provide a completely random attack catered to a specific, constantly changing situation."

"Wow," Mara said. "Palpatine once mentioned he almost was defeated by a 'Windu' but never elaborated. His mention of Vaapad was on an entirely different note, but a form like that could defeat almost any enemy. If mastered properly."

"Yes," Jacen agreed. "And I guarantee you; Soora has almost definitely mastered the techniques of it, whereas the original did not."

"To use it in combat without mastery is foolish at best," Eriana spoke up after tossing the towel into a bin against the nearest wall. "When in the Vaapad-mindset, you just _go_. You move faster than you've ever moved, your lightsaber moves more accurately than it ever has, and you do it all without even thinking. If the body can't keep up with the Force, and the mind doesn't have the ability to restrain it, you'll just burn out, lose concentration, and probably take your own head off." Eriana rubbed a spot on the back of her head upon mentioning this.

"I also don't mean to make it sound like Vaapad is invincible," Jacen continued. "Mace said he regularly lost to Yoda even though Yoda never learned Vaapad. Eriana and I have experimented with the other forms against it, and with varying levels of success we have been able to beat each other."

"I don't know about you, Luke," Mara said. "But this sounds pretty dark to me."

"Not if used properly," Eriana said. "Mace was a pretty nasty guy in a fight, but he never went dark."

Mara gave Luke a sceptical glance, but said nothing further.

"I was going to ask for a demonstration of techniques against a stationary target, but I have a feeling that won't do much good," Luke said. "So, I guess I'll get you to attack me instead."

"Sounds good. A stationary target would be chopped up faster than your eyes could follow," Jacen drew his lightsaber and activated it in training mode. Eriana and Mara stepped off the training mat to give them room as Luke activated his own and affixed a training collar. "I think its best that the first time you see Vaapad is when it is coming at you. At least, in this situation."

"Agreed."

"And Uncle Luke?"

"Yes."

"Don't hold back."

Luke gave his nephew a funny look, but Jacen already had his eyes closed.

"Five credits says Jacen wins in under a minute," Eriana whispered to Mara as the men took their place at the edge of the mat.

"Ten creds says Jacen ends on his butt in two," Mara whispered back.

Both men drew upon the Force to centre themselves. Luke held his lightsaber in the classic Djem So ready stance, saber hilt by the right hip, tip pointed up and left leg forward. Jacen stood right leg forward while drawing his mind into Vaapad. He warmed himself into the ready stance by drawing a figure eight around himself at a slowly increasing speed. When the figure eight became a constant blur of green light and Jacen was centred, he opened his eyes to look at Luke with a predator's joyful glare full of Vaapad intensity. Momentarily startled by the look in Jacen's eyes, Luke barely deflected the initial thrust that came at him faster than a lunging Corellian sand viper, and narrowly deflected the next five swings that came from completely random directions in less than a second. Luke's mind distantly recognized that the strikes were as strong as they were fast, but he did not have time to process the meaning as he back peddled to keep away from the furious onslaught of staccato attacks. He leapt over Jacen when he found himself out of room, but instantly regretted it when Jacen used the Force to throw Luke farther and harder than he expected to travel. Luke bounced when he hit a gymnastics mat thirty metres away, and brought is lightsaber up just in time to deflect another attack from Jacen, who had leapt across the hall to follow Luke. Jacen, still airborne when Luke's lightsaber caught his attack, flipped over Luke, rolled on the ground, then sprung up and continued his ferocious attack without pause. Luke kipped up and deflected the first couple of lightsaber attacks, then found himself on his knees with Jacen's lightsaber to his throat.

"You were so focussed on my lightsaber you didn't notice when I tripped you," Jacen critiqued, turning his lightsaber off. "Well done; nobody except Eriana has lasted that long against me without Vaapad in a while."

"Definitely a record," Eriana called happily, collecting something from a scowling Mara as they walked up to Luke and Jacen.

"That was much more intense than I expected," Luke admitted, sitting down and recalling his lightsaber with the Force. "Where did that telekinesis come from? And when did you grow so many arms?"

"Package deal," Jacen said. "I sensed a weakness and automatically attacked it. It was practically an unconscious reaction. I barely even remember the fight. Also, the illusion of multiple arms comes from the speed of movement, as you saw."

"Amazing," Luke commented, moving to get up. "Let me try that again."

"Mara's first," Eriana said, dragging Mara back to the original training mat. "You need rest."

"You wouldn't believe how much energy you just used," Jacen elaborated, positioning himself so he could watch Mara and Eriana fight while talking to his uncle. "You're actually very close to a Vaapad mindset yourself. I was analysing your mind as we were fighting, and I think the only things holding you back were when I startled you and your lack of familiarity with the form. I could feel you naturally moving towards a Vaapad mindset as a defence mechanism. Next time, you'll do much better now that you know what to expect."

"You mean expect everything that I once thought was impossible," Luke joked as Mara lost her fight.

"Exactly," Jacen replied with a classic Solo grin. " 'You must unlearn, what you have learned' I think you told me once or twice."

Eriana and Mara joined the other two Jedi at the far side of the room and Mara sat down exhaustedly.

"Now you know why these Sith are so dangerous," Jacen said. "An entire army of Sith warriors using Vaapad…" He let his voice trail off.

"We couldn't stop them," Luke finished sombrely. "Especially with the Mandalorians backing them."

-! #$%^&*()

**From the Private Journal of Jedi Master Jacen Solo**

=With comments by B. Wrarm, Jedi Librarian=

=Approximately 35 years after the Battle of Yavin, One Week before The Sekot Search=

Where do I start?

Well, on an interesting note, I was in Uncle Luke's office today with Kyp while Kyp ranted about Eriana for the better part of an hour. Okay, that's kinda dull, I admit. It was duller being there, I assure you. The interesting part is that Mom sent an urgent transmission to Uncle Luke, which included a video of her being attacked by some Sith. You should've seen Kyp's face! A blind hawkbat could've flown into his mouth it was so wide! Finally we have some conclusive proof the Sith really are out there to shut him up with. I half expected him to accuse me of forging Mom's transmission, but I doubt the thought crossed his mind! It looks like the search for the Sith is definitely happening now.

=Long pause=

I never thought I'd say this, but I'm worried about Uncle Luke. I beat him too easily during my Vaapad demo today. I mean...me defeating Luke Skywalker in a lightsaber duel! Nobody would have bet on that one! I thought I'd be showing him a new style of combat, not wiping the floor with him. Even Eriana said Aunt Mara was a pushover, but that didn't entirely surprise me. At least their ability to adapt is still there. They improved noticeably over the few times we fought. Aunt Mara almost landed a slash on me, and Uncle Luke almost took off my head twice. They still can't keep up with Eriana, but neither can I. They're getting much better, but I hope we can train them a bit more. I have a feeling that time is limited, and I still haven't figured out how I'm going to survive the meld with Sekot. We know there will be severe trauma to my brain, and we've figured out a way of protecting everyone else, but I'm still not sure how to keep the…

=Faint canine whining and scratching sounds in background=

Hey, Astro, stop that! Oh. Astro. That's a good idea. But I'll need you to protect me before I can do that.

=End=

-! #$%^&*()

_One week later…_

Fifty Jedi stood in a circle around Jacen in a small clearing in a forest on Zonama Sekot. They had arrived not an hour before and had immediately made their way towards the clearing Sekot had prepared for the occasion. Zonama had arrived at the core at the scheduled time with no damage from the stress of hyperspace. In the last five years, it had improved its control over the gravetic stresses of hyperspace to the point where the inhabitants could no longer feel the jump to hyperspace.

An image of Vergere stood in front of Jacen speaking to him in a way the other Jedi could not hear. The only other being who seemed to understand was Astro, staring directly at Sekot from Jacen's side.

"All the preparations have been made, Jacen Solo," Sekot spoke to him. "And I am ready. But Jacen, we both know what the strain of this will..."

"Yes," Jacen cut Sekot off, speaking to her in Vongese. "We also know this has to be done."

"Yes, we do," Sekot sighed. "I only wish we had more time to speak. I have missed your company. Among all other humans, I feel you understood me the most. Please begin, Jacen Solo. May the Force be with you."

"You sure you want to do this?" Kyle Katarn asked one last time. "We know the Sith are allied with the Mandos, and they're obviously in Hutt space."

"Yes, Master Katarn," Jacen smiled. "Hutt space is still quite large, and there may be auxiliary bases. Searching that area will take more fleet resources than we have. We have to do this."

"Alright," Kyle said. "But don't blame me if your head explodes."

Jacen nodded and drew the Force upon himself. He reached out to every Jedi, one at a time, drawing their power and minds and into his consciousness. Once he had become one with every Jedi, he reached into Sekot and merged with the planet. The planet's mind overwhelmed the Jedi, but Sekot guided their minds to prevent the sensation from becoming dangerous. Jacen reached deep into the power of the Jedi and the planet and pushed his perceptions out far over the galaxy to _see_. Days or seconds passed as a near-infinite amount of information unfurled through the network of minds being processed and forgotten at speeds beyond anyone's comprehension. Even Sekot's world-sized intelligence could not handle the scope of the information and it, too, had to let go of everything. When it was over and the fifty disoriented Jedi regained their senses, Jacen Solo lay motionless on his back staring unseeingly into the Zonamian sky with his faithful Vornskr whimpering at his side.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

_Three weeks later…_

A soft beeping sound penetrated the dark abyss that plagued Jacen Solo for weeks. His eyes opened sharply and saw the welcoming soft tones of the ceiling of Cilghal's medical centre. He sat up slowly and was greeted with his mom's face.

"Hey there, Sleepyhead," Leia Organa Solo said. "Welcome back to the Land of the Living."

Astro bounded onto the bed and started licking his face, but he pushed the Vornskr off.

"Down, Astro, down!"

Jacen waved a hand over his body and all scanning equipment flew off like magnets affected by a sudden reversal of polarity. He jumped off the bed and used the Force to pull his robes towards him from the nearby closet.

"Hi, Mom," Jacen said. "I need to see Uncle Luke immediately. Are the others okay?"

"The other who?" Leia asked, startled by his abruptness.

"The other Jedi in the meld," He dressed quickly, as if seeing his mother for the first time in five years was unimportant to him.

"They're fine. Some had some headaches for a couple days, but they're okay now. Wait, Jacen!" Leia cried. "Cilghal should check you out before you go. You've been unconscious for three weeks!"

"Three weeks in a healing trance, eh? I'm getting sloppy," Jacen said pulling his outer robe on. "And I'm sure she's checked me out many times over the last while. I'll catch up with you later." He reached out to sense the location of his lightsaber, then called it to his hand with an Ang-Tii technique. A second later it popped into existence. He clipped the lightsaber to his belt on his way out of the medical centre, leaving his very confused mother behind. Astro followed him out with his tail wagging.

Astro raced after Jacen with his ears flopping with each bound and the canine equivalent to a grin plastered to his face as Jacen rushed through the halls towards Luke's office nearly at a sprint, dodging students, Knights, and Masters alike. Jacen felt slightly drained by his reduction in physical activity due to lying in bed for three weeks, so he called on the Force to compensate and keep him from running into anyone. There was no more time to lose with three weeks lost already. Before he lost consciousness he tried to implant the locations into the minds of the other fifty Jedi, but only succeeded in planting all the parts of those memories in everyone's minds, scattered randomly like grains on a field. Both he and Sekot knew going into this that severe trauma to the brain would be unavoidable, a small fact that was left out of Jacen's initial report, and had planned a way to restore his damaged mind. Part of their plan also consisted of ways to protect the other Jedi, something Jacen was glad had worked.

Jacen reached Luke's office and could sense his former Master inside. He knocked softly at the door and waited to be invited in. Luke's face appeared a moment later with a look that suggested his eyes were deceiving him.

"Jacen!" Luke exclaimed. "I didn't realize Cilghal had released you."

"She didn't," Jacen responded. "I woke up and came straight here. There is no time to lose."

The Jedi moved into Luke's office and took their appropriate chairs. Astro curled up at Jacen's feet, growling softly at the chair leg.

"I suspect you haven't found the Sith yet and are coordinating a galaxy wide search like originally planned."

"Yes," Luke said, slightly startled by the sudden debriefing by someone who was unconscious until just five minutes ago. "We have found only trace evidence to suggest the Sith are out there. The attack on your mom was the most conclusive of evidence so far."

"They're definitely behind the Mandalorian expansion in Hutt Space," Jacen said. "Their main base is on Nar Shadda. They also have auxiliary bases on Keldabe, Mandalore, Nar Kreeta, and Yavin 4."

"You remembered!" Luke said with obvious surprise. "We didn't think you would regain consciousness again, much less remember the location of the Sith bases." He started writing the names on a sheet of flimsy.

"There is more," Jacen warned. "I can recall an abandoned planet in the Unknown Regions that Soora used for training for several years. I can point it out on a map, but no names are coming to me. Also, the Sith are behind the resource dumping to try to destabilize the Republic by making the Jedi look bad. Both the Sith and Mandos are looking to restore their former glory by taking over the Republic through political subterfuge. Their goal is to replace us and the current military as guardians of the Republic, and that position to rule by force."

"That confirms Leia's suspicions. You remembered all that?"

"That, and the secret ingredient to Fizzy Pop drinks," Jacen said wryly. "I made a... an acquaintance with a high-ranking Mandalorian a couple years back. He isn't exactly sympathetic towards the Jedi, but I doubt he would start a war with us. I would like to try getting some information from him."

"I will have to clear it with the Council, but that sounds like a good idea. Who is he?"

At that moment, the door burst open, and an angry Mon Calamari rushed in. "Jacen Solo! Why are you out of the infirmary?"

"I'm fine, Cilghal," Jacen said soothingly. "I had to make a report..."

"I'm the one who says if you're fine or not!" She said angrily. "Back you go. Sorry, Master Skywalker, but I need to run more tests on him."

"Not a problem, Cilghal," Luke said. "I have to speak to the Council now, anyway. I'll get back to you after the meeting, Jacen."

-! #$%^&*()

An hour later Luke and Jaina came to the infirmary to see Jacen and report on the Council's decision. Han and Leia were already there, continuing Cilghal's criticism about him leaving the infirmary. Eriana was also there, rolling her eyes as much as Jacen did. She alone knew the full extent of his healing abilities and how useless being there was. Astro was lying on the bed at Jacen's feet, intently licking a worn chew toy and growling at his own paw if it got too close to his mouth's toy. Jacen mostly ignored everything going on until his uncle and sister entered the room.

"Well?" Jacen asked, sitting up attentively.

"The Council has authorised you and your crew to pursue this contact of yours to determine what the Mandalorian threat amounts to," Luke said. "And…"

"Jaina and her apprentices are coming too, to keep an eye on me and make sure I don't end up back in this bed for," he turned to look at his parents, "no good reason."

"Jacen!" His mom exclaimed.

"Look, we went over this a hundred times. I. Am. Fine." Jacen let his annoyance seep into his words. "Cilghal will have the results of her scans in a minute when she walks through that door, and then I can get out of here and back to work. The healing trance I used was specifically designed to restore myself to full health after severe trauma to the brain and restore any damaged memories. I imprinted my memories elsewhere, and used them to restore my mind while I was entranced."

"You what?" Every member of his family asked at once.

Before anyone could say anything more, Cilghal entered the room and tossed a folder full of flimsy on the bed. "He's fine," Jacen jumped off the bed before Cilghal could continue and started to pull his robe back on. "His brain fully repaired itself somehow. As I told you over the last three weeks, I can't explain it, but I don't see any sign that any damage occurred, physically or otherwise. His body has repaired itself in a way I have never seen before, even with that vicious Vornskr keeping him from our care!"

Astro perked up and glared at Cilghal, but did not make a noise. If Cilghal could have guessed, the Vornskr looked offended.

"He didn't hurt anyone, did he?" Jacen asked.

"No," Cilghal replied. "But he wouldn't let anyone near you for almost a day! We even tried sedating him with tranquilizer darts."

"Bad idea," Jacen replied. "Vornskrs are immune to most toxins, especially Astro. You're lucky he didn't attack without me to calm him. But thank you for your care, Cilghal. Jaina, we're leaving as soon as you and your apprentices are ready. I was able to pick up my contact in the Force while I was being yelled at, but he'll be on the move soon.

"Master Luke, thank you, and I will keep you apprised on the mission. I'll see you all when we all get back."

He left the infirmary with his robes trailing behind him from the speed of his brisk stride, followed by Eriana and Astro. Jaina blew out a sigh and smiled at her parents.

"Well, it looks like I should get going. 'Later."

"Jaina," Han stopped his daughter with a hand on her shoulder. "Keep an eye on him for us."

Jaina turned around and hugged him. "That's what the big sister's for."

She hugged her mom and left the room in search of her apprentices. The four adults were left in the room alone.

"When did that kid grow up?" Han asked nobody in particular. "Seven years ago he couldn't even decide which way to hold a blaster, and now it looks like he's running the Jedi Order."

"He's just used to doing things his own way and making decisions himself," Luke explained, hiding his hurt at Han's comment. Han's infamous skill at pointing out the painfully obvious was obviously unhindered by his age. "Actually, he reminds me of a certain smuggler who got roped into helping an illegal alliance of rebels a few years back."

"Hey, I never told any Jedi Masters what they should be doing!"

"Except for Obi-Wan," Luke said.

"What about Luke and Tresina?" Leia asked.

"And Kyp, Corran, Jaina…?" Cilghal continued.

"Uh…yeah. Except them."

-! #$%^&*()

From the Private Journal of Jedi Master Jacen Solo

=With comments by B. Wrarm, Jedi Librarian=

=Approximately 35 years after the Battle of Yavin, Three Weeks after The Sekot Search=

It worked.

Wow.

And I'm alive.

Bonus.

=Pause=

I'm hungry.

=End=


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The _Solo Quest _left Ossus for Tatooine at maximum speed, a trip that would take approximately two standard days along two trade routes that intersect at Coruscant. Well into the journey, long after jumping to hyperspace near Coruscant, Jacen, Eriana, and Womprat were found discussing the Sith and Mandalorian situation by Jaina when she opened the cockpit door unannounced.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry," Jaina stammered. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"No, please, come in," Jacen gestured to the empty communications chair. "We were just throwing ideas around about what the Sith and Mandalorian alliance could mean."

"What have you come up with?" Jaina asked.

"Scary version?" Eriana asked. "They build up enough clout to succeed in turning the Galactic Alliance against us, take over dozens, if not hundreds of planets, and we're hunted down and killed Palpatine style."

"Sounds like the Vong all over again," Jaina mused.

"Correction: The Vong were only concerned with domination and conversion on a religious crusade. The Mandalorians, from my vast experience, are much more intelligent and ruthless, if equally determined," Womprat critiqued.

" 'Vast experience'?" Jaina asked the astromech. "What experience with the Mandalorians could you possibly have, _droid_?"

"Womprat's brain is over five thousand years old, Jaina," Jacen interrupted. "Unfortunately, that's about all I know about him."

Womprat gave an annoyed burst of sound at Jacen, and then continued.

"Continuation: As my Master so inconsiderately left out, I was built after the initial Mandalorian attempt to take over the galaxy, and was given the rare opportunity to travel with Mandalore himself in the service of my masters on no less than two great missions across the galaxy. I have also tracked the development of those arrogant meatcans, and catalogued their fighting styles for weaknesses to facilitate easy assassination and neutralization."

Jaina stared at the droid momentarily, and then looked at Jacen. "You do know it's illegal to possess assassination droids, don't you?"

"Yep, but technically he's classified as an astromech," Jacen opened a panel on his chair with the Force and extracted a memory chip to show her. "An astromech with removable assassination programming that nobody really needs to know about. Besides, have you seen half the systems on this ship? The only things I haven't found are biological weapons and diamond-boron armoured torpedoes. There are two experimental Mark XX E-Webs hidden under a floor plate the refresher. I didn't even know they made Mark XX E-Webs!"

"Jacen! Stop and think for a minute," Jaina said incredulously. "You're a Jedi! Why do you have an assassin droid?"

"He's a good example of what not to do," Jacen said reasonably, ignoring her look of utter disbelief. "And he's not bad with a hydrospanner."

Jaina's head ended up in her palms, but Jacen continued.

"Anyway, we believe the Sith are using the Mandalorians as a cover to hide their presence. Womprat knows how the Mandalorians have operated in the past. One of our goals will be to see how similar they are to their roots and see if we can exploit any historical weaknesses. That will take time to confirm, though."

"Okay, we know the worst case," Jaina said, finally composing herself. "What's the best case scenario?"

"The Mandalorians cave when we pacify the Sith, and the Sith are willing to co-exist with us peacefully after a diplomatic request," Eriana said. "And, at the same time shares of Galactic Footware Inc. skyrocket because all the Sith buy their new line of fluffy pink slippers. You'll notice I'm short on them…they just sold off their military footwear division." She tapped a display screen showing her financial portfolio.

"Jaina, where are your apprentices?" Jacen asked after a moment of silence.

"Oh, they're working on some telekinesis techniques in the back," Jaina said. "Why?"

"They should be here, discussing this with us," Jacen replied. "Six heads _are_ better than four."

"Jacen, this isn't something for apprentices to be discussing," Jaina's face and voice indicated she thought her brother insane. "I don't even know why we're discussing it. For one, this is a matter for the Jedi Council to work out, not a Master, a Knight… Sorry, _two Masters,_ a Jensaarai, and an assassin droid! Forget a pair of apprentices!"

"Yoda once said that children possess the greatest minds of all," Jacen said. "They have an uncanny ability to see things in an uncomplicated manner and to do the unexpected. Recall, it was the Jedi Order stagnating thanks to a bunch of old guys who didn't want to change that caused a collective blindness towards the Sith's attempts to wipe them out. And now Uncle Luke is trying to replicate that system and ingrain that mentality in everyone's minds? I'm sorry, Jaina, but I can't accept that argument. There is too much at stake to leave out any options. Unless…you don't trust one of your apprentices."

"Of course I trust them!" Jaina shouted back, standing up angrily. "Why can't you just accept the fact that the Jedi Order has its own way of doing things, and that you have to follow them if you want to be part of the Order?"

Jacen stared into his seething sister's eyes, and slowly stood up to tower over her without breaking eye contact. "When the Masters of the Jedi Order start playing by their own rules, such as obeying their own lessons on controlling anger," Jaina flinched, but could not look away. "Maybe I will play by their rules. Until such time, I can not, and will not, stand by while a threat against the innocent lives under the care of the Jedi exists. I will do whatever is necessary according to the rules of conduct as determined by Yoda, Obi-Wan, and the other Jedi Masters who instructed me to Mastery to protect them, whether the Jedi Council likes it or not."

Seeing his sister being sufficiently admonished, Jacen sat back down. "Believe me; if you knew the powers my Masters possess, you would know we are not running around unchecked doing as we please. The terms of us learning from them prohibit us from doing too much beyond what normal Jedi can do without consulting with them. I guess you could say we have our own little Jedi Council to answer to.

"Now, can we continue the discussion like reasonable people, or do I have to send you to your room?" Jacen finished with a faint smile in his eyes.

"No," Jaina said, tears welling up in her eyes. "We're missing two people who should be here." She turned and left the cockpit in search of her students, though Jacen suspected her students would not hear from her for a short while.

"Jaina," Jacen called. He sensed her stop, but could not think of anything to say. "Forget it."

"Nice one, Jace," Eriana said sarcastically as Jaina ran away. "Do you make every girl you know cry, or just your little sister?"

Jacen rolled his eyes and turned to check over the ship's diagnostic screens to ensure all was well. "She's older, not me."

"Witty response: You could have fooled me, Master."

"Stay out of it, both of you," Jacen said, leaving the cockpit after his sister.

-! #$%^&*()

Ben heard Master Lowbacca call out a series of grunts and barks that meant no more to him than the talking heads his parents watched on the Holonet. He tightened the last bolt on the engine blade he was securing as he waited for the Wookiee to finish, and for TB-92 to translate for him. It had been a month since he was first assigned to Master Lowbacca, but he still barely knew any words in Shyriiwook. He sincerely hoped he would never have to speak the Wookiee language. Jaina said she could emulate some of the words, but only after a few glasses of wine.

"Master Lowbacca asks if you have finished with the maintenance of the engine so he can engage the engines," TeeBee said with what Ben thought to be the most boring voice in the galaxy. "Hopefully he will wait until you respond so he does not activate them prematurely and blow us both up. My life has been far too short to be blown up by a careless Wookiee."

Ben gritted his teeth and thought back to his and Jaina's attempts to reprogram the droid. Every time they tried performing a modification the entire neural net would crash and they were forced to reload the backups. After the tenth attempt, Ben was forced to accept that his depressed droid was there to stay.

"Almost done Master Lowbacca!" Ben called out. "Give me a minute!"

[Okay,] Lowbacca called back, in one of maybe five words Ben recognized from Shyriiwook.

Ben quickly collected the tools he had been using and got to safety away from the engines of the X-wing.

"All clear, fire 'em up!" Ben called to Lowbacca and watched the engine.

"Not gonna get very far with that setup," A familiar voice came from behind Ben.

"Uncle Han!" Ben ran forward and gave his uncle a hug, leaving a pair of dark greasy handprints on his white shirt just above the waist. Han winced and pulled Ben off him.

"Not so fast, Lowie," Han called out. Lowie had sensed the problem with the engine and was staring at Ben from the cockpit. "Kid has a few loose ends to tie up."

"What do you mean?" Ben asked.

"Take a look," Han said, pointing at the empty spot on the engine where the cowl was missing.

Ben picked up his diagnostic scanner and went over to the engine with his uncle in tow. He scanned the engine, but everything appeared to be fine. He double checked all the wiring, the landing strut hydraulics, and even the angle of the blades, but everything seemed to be okay.

_He saw it from way over there,_ Ben thought. _What could he see from there?_

Then it hit him – the cowling.

"The cover?" Ben asked.

"Nope," Han said. He pointed to the fuel hose Ben had replaced. It was blue, just like the hydraulic lines, not red like the one he had removed. "You used hydraulic tubing, not a fuel grade line."

"I couldn't find any," Ben said. "It should be fine."

"Maybe in a pinch," Han agreed. "But you're doing maintenance, not field repair. That line won't last more than forty-eight hours with fuel running through it."

"Oh," Ben said dejectedly. "I guess I'm just not good at this stuff, Uncle Han."

"Yeah, sure you are kid," Han punched him on the shoulder lightly. "Your old man's one of the best mechanics around. It's in your blood. I mean, look at these blades."

Han pulled him over and flicked at a blade with a finger, creating a soft humming vibration. "I haven't seen an engine this precisely calibrated by anyone but me. You've got talent, kid, and a good teacher."

Lowie roared a thank you to Han, but Han merely picked up a pair of pliers and handed them to Ben.

"I'll get the red hose. You yank that blue one out," Han said. "And forget the Wookiee. I'll make a mechanic out of you yet."

-! #$%^&*()

"Okay," Eriana mused. "What about Corran and Asajj Ventress?"

"Oh, definitely Corran," Nelani said, accepting the plant from Eriana and passing it to Karth.

"I think Asajj," Karth accepted the plant and continued moving it towards Eriana again. "She had some remarkable kills in the Clone Wars."

"Asajj, I think, too," Eriana admitted, continuing the plant's path. The three were sitting in an equilateral triangle a couple metres apart in the training area practicing distracted partner telekinesis with Jacen's potted amphistaff polyp. "What about Boba Fett and Han Solo?"

"Solo," Nelani said. "Fett's bitter, but Solo has more to live for."

"Disagreement: I would have to disagree with this one," Womprat chimed in. "While Solo is a formidable meatbag, Fett is a meatcan with far greater skill and training. Fett also carries the exquisite JR-42 scope on his BlasTech, indicating he has much greater tastes in lethally efficient weaponry."

"I don't know," Karth was momentarily distracted by an amphistaff that decided to lash out at him and nearly dropped the pot, but Eriana caught it. He sheepishly took over and passed it to Eriana properly. "Umm…oh, right. Solo also has style that Fett doesn't. Fett's too narrow-minded."

A series of grunts and whines from the corner of the training room indicated Astro seemed to disagree…or agree. Karth and Nelani did not quite know what to make of the Vornskr's grunts.

"That's true," Eriana agreed with the Vornskr, passing the polyp to Nelani and levitating Womprat into the mix. "But Solo did do it by accident. And that does show how tough Fett is. I gotta go for the meatcan myself."

"Oooh, Jacen's not going to like that," Nelani said with a glint in her eye, taking over both objects and moving them along. "My turn. I'll say…both Master Skywalkers."

"You don't like making things easy, do you?" Karth asked, trying to focus on both items and moving them along while thinking up an answer. "Master Luke."

"Jade," Eriana said, effortlessly moving the objects and spinning Womprat upside down in the process. "I fought them both. She has training that farmboy hasn't a clue about."

Womprat made a comment, but decided to speak backwards in light of being floated upside down, so nobody quite understood him.

"I'm in the Master Luke club," Nelani nodded to Karth. "He was knocking a Sith Lord around while Master Jade was killing people in their sleep. Maybe if she snuck up on him…"

"What are the criteria?" Karth asked as he spun Womprat back around.

"No vehicles and anything goes." Eriana laid on her back with her eyes closed, letting the two apprentices take over the exercise. "Pass the plant high, Womprat low. Just bounce back and forth. Oh, and tap each other on the head with the pot."

Both apprentices glanced at her with looks of disbelief, but started the modified exercise. The plant arched in a high path, while Womprat moved back and forth between them, and they alternated passing one to the other.

"Why does Jacen keep an amphistaff polyp?" Nelani asked. "Aren't they dangerous?"

"I asked him once," Eriana admitted, "But all he said was 'sentimental reasons.' I don't quite know what he means by that, but he does use it to keep his Vongsense in shape. He also uses the staffs as armour if he needs some. I think he was jealous of my Jensaarai armour. Karth, your pick."

Karth looked overwhelmed with the task of the complex telekinesis, but still mumbled out "Masters Durron and Horn."

"Corran," Womprat said.

"Master Durron," Nelani said.

"Master Durron," Karth repeated.

"Corran," Jacen said, entering the room with Jaina in tow. If anyone noticed her red eyes, nobody commented. "Better fighter, and any Force Kyp throws at him he can absorb and throw back." The two siblings sat down on either side of Eriana, and Jaina levitated a couple wooden staffs into the telekinetic mix. Karth started sweating under the concentration of the telekinesis, and even Nelani was showing signs of strain, but both continued. Jacen nodded his impress to Jaina.

"Yeah, I'm in the Corran boat," Eriana agreed. "Your pick Jaina."

"Um, what?" Jaina asked, slightly lost.

"Just a game to keep their minds going," Eriana explained. "We're naming two random people and trying to say who would win a lightsaber or blaster battle."

"And you had to drag my polyp into this?" Jacen asked.

"Incentive to keep it moving," Eriana winked as an amphistaff lashed out and severed a few strands of Nelani's long hair.

"Palpatine and Vader," Jaina said reasonably. "Before Vader got the armour."

"Oh dear," Eriana sat up. "That's a good one. I'd have to go with Palpatine."

"Vader," Nelani blushed slightly, secretly supporting Vader out of her crush on Jacen. "He fought in the wars when Palpatine was on his high throne getting old."

"Palpatine was said to have beaten the best," Karth said. "He scared Yoda off."

"I think Palpatine, too." Jacen nodded. "Vader was bitter but he wasn't as desperate as Palpatine. I don't think Vader could've struck down his friend, anyway."

"I think Vader," Jaina said. "He did beat Palpatine in the end, with the armour."

"My turn," Jacen claimed. "Obi-Wan and Uncle Luke."

At the same time Jaina, Nelani, and Karth said "Luke." and Eriana, Womprat, and Jacen said "Obi-Wan." Even Astro barked in support of Obi-Wan.

Jacen shrugged. "Womprat?"

"Challenge: I pit the Jedi Exile and The Great and Illustrious Darth Revan together."

"Who?" Everyone asked at the same time.

"Okay, it's official," Jaina said to the droid. "You don't get to pick again. Ever."

Before Womprat could make an inappropriate comment, Nelani said "Jacen and Eriana."

"Jacen," Eriana said immediately.

"No – Eriana," Jacen pointed at her. "She'd beat me."

"Sithspit," Eriana said indignantly. "You're the better fighter by far."

"You're better with a blade," Jacen dismissed her. "And you learned all that stuff from the Echani master we had with us for a bit."

"You still know way more with the Force than I do."

"Remember that time on that unnamed little rock out in the Unknown Regions when you pulled a dozen mynocks off my back?"

"That's because your suit was low on oxygen and you passed out! Anyone would have needed help."

"I thought there was a no-arguing clause in this," Karth said, finally losing control and dropping all the objects. Jacen instinctively caught the polyp pot. "Aww…"

A chime rang over the comm. system.

"Looks like we're at Tatooine," Jacen, glaring at Eriana. He took the amphistaff polyp and left the room with it, speaking something in Vongese to it.

"Did I just hear him say 'Anakin'?" Jaina asked.

"I don't know. Jerk. He's too kriffin' modest." Eriana turned back to find Womprat scooting out the back door at high speed. "Hmph. Better put those staffs away and get ready, kids. We'll be in the cockpit if you need us."


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Leia and Han entered Luke's office to find him sitting behind his desk examining a holo-display. The glow of the holo display made the lines of age and the long healed scars on his face looking more pronounced than usual and made his hair look unnaturally grey.

"Hey kid, what's so urgent you had to drag us out of bed?" Han demanded.

"Saba and Tesar," Luke said without looking up. "We got an urgent call on subspace that their ship was crippled near the Roche Asteroids after returning from an unsuccessful diplomatic mission on Phindar. We don't have any more details than that, but the _Falcon _is the only ship we have available that can pull this off. I had a crew prep the _Falcon _and I'm clearing you for immediate takeoff."

His comm panel bleeped for his attention.

"Jedi Delivery Services, Booster speaking," A sarcastic, rough voice came from the heavyset holographic man with a red eye that appeared over the comm unit. "How can I help you?"

"Booster, it's good to see you again," Luke Skywalker responded. "Welcome to Ossus. Please hold a minute."

Luke flicked the unit into standby without pause and looked up at his sister.

"Leia, I wish I knew more, but Saba and Tesar may be under attack. The _Falcon _is both fast enough to get there in time to make a difference, and armed enough to handle just about anything waiting. You're their only hope."

"I understand," Leia said. "We'll head out right away."

"I'll send you the bill when we get back," Han grumbled, and walked out.

"'Bout time, Skywalker," Booster replied when Luke reactivated the display. "Why is it every time you need something moved you ask the guy with the biggest ship?"

"We have lots of equipment," Luke said reasonably. "And I figured a former pirate with a star destroyer wouldn't want anyone else transporting his grandchildren to Coruscant."

Booster made a funny grunt in his throat. "How much are you offering?"

"Fifty thousand, all in advance."

Boosters eyebrows disappeared under the brim of his captain's hat. "You're actually paying me this time? What's the occasion? Did you rob the Galactic Bank again? No, let me guess: You sold your favourite bantha."

"Nah, we came across a cache of old Imperial credits I can't get rid of," Luke said, holding up one of the near-worthless coins. "I've been using them as flimsy-weights. They're yours if you want them. Might be able to sell them to a museum."

"Funny, Skywalker," Booster growled. "Cargo ships can go to docking bay 10. Send my grandkids with the credits first thing in the morning."

-! #$%^&*()

The modified YT-2400set down at Mos Eisley's spaceport just after midday. The suns were high in the sky still, and the scorching heat created shimmering mirages on the horizons in every direction. Most beings moved quickly from building to building to avoid the heat, with only droids and the occasional womprat or dewback lingering around in the sun. An odd group consisting of five humanoids wearing Jedi robes with the hoods up, an R12 unit, and a vicious looking canine walked leisurely from docking bay 34 to the main cantina. Unlike the locals, the humanoids appeared to be enjoying the heat, as some do after a long hyperspace journey in the cold of space. The tallest of the humanoids turned and spoke to the group. After a brief argument with the shortest humanoid in the group, whose body language indicated he, or she, was quite upset, the tallest walked towards the cantina with the canine and droid following. The face of Jacen Solo appeared under the hood of the robe just briefly, but enough for Boba Fett to see.

"Sithspawn," Boba Fett swore. "He's back."

-! #$%^&*()

From the Private Journal of Jedi Master Jacen Solo

=With comments by B. Wrarm, Jedi Librarian=

=Approximately 30 years after the Battle of Yavin, Within Two Months of the End of the Yuuzhan Vong War.=

I fought Boba Fett and kicked his butt.

Then we spoke and came to a truce.

Then Womprat stole an ancient lightsaber from him that belonged to the guy who killed his dad.

If he ever sees me again, I'm so dead.

=End=

-! #$%^&*()

"We don't serve their kind here!"

Jacen heard the familiar call of Wuher's voice and smiled slightly as he entered the noisy cantina.

"The Vornskr, or the droid?" Jacen responded, lowering his hood and looking at Wuher. Astro leapt over the bar upon seeing the familiar face of Wuher and rolled over to get his belly scratched, pining for attention.

Wuher grunted and smiled, rubbing the Vornskr's belly with his foot. "C'mon in, Solo. The usual?"

"Please," Jacen responded, tossing a credit chip at Wuher. The chip easily disappeared when it reached its destination, and a fruity energy beverage appeared on the bar. Jacen took the drink and moved to a booth, waiting for Boba Fett to appear. He knew Fett had seen him enter and was on his way. Fett rarely let anything slip past him, especially when it concerned Jedi. Mace Windu had taught him that, but Jacen had reminded him several years ago.

"I want my lightsaber back."

Jacen unconcernedly looked up at the business end of Fett's EE-11 blaster rifle which was pointed at Jacen's nose. "Sorry, I returned it to the maker, and it was shortly thereafter destroyed."

Fett's grip on his blaster wavered slightly from the shock of the news. "W-Windu's alive?"

"Not anymore. And he took his lightsaber with him," Jacen said reasonably. "It was a big explosion, too. Took out half a mountain. He's definitely dead now, of that I'm sure."

"That man was a mountain to himself," Fett said in bitter admiration. He sat down across the table from Jacen. "Hello, HK-47. Long time no see."

"Salutation: Greetings, Tin-packaged meatbag. Have we met? It is hard to tell one meatcan from another."

"Like you don't remember," Fett shook his head. "Okay, Solo. Why are you hunting me?"

"Hunting?" Jacen asked, "I'm not hunting you. You're the hunter. All I want is information."

"Information, eh?" Fett leaned back and examined Jacen. "Sometimes that is more dangerous. What kind of information does a Jedi need that he can't get from Karrde?"

"Mandalorian information. I want to know what the clans are up to."

"And you assume _I_ would know this information?" Fett asked incredulously.

"You are Mandalore," Jacen responded.

"Who told you that?"

"You did, just now," Jacen smiled the famous Solo grin. "I was guessing, and you just confirmed it."

"Damn you, Jedi. Keep out of my head," Fett sighed and leaned heavily on the table. "I can't help you, Solo. I lost the Mandalorians."

"Query: Lost? Have you tried looking for them? They generally walk around in brightly coloured tin cans with compensatory armaments and make primitive comments like 'Am I being paid for this?' "

"Shut up, droid," Fett kicked Womprat with a loud thud. "They're not listening to me anymore. Well, a few of them are, but the rest split off. They think they can seek greatness by…"

"Following the Sith," Jacen finished before Fett could, surprising the bounty hunter. "Yes, I already knew they've aligned with the Sith. And I'd like to stop this from continuing."

"Good luck!" Fett said sarcastically. "The clans left me because I wouldn't ally with the Sith. Some stayed with me, but the majority left. They attacked me but…well; I got farther than they did. It doesn't matter. You may have dented my armour, but there's no way you could take on even a dozen Mandalorians. Much less…" Fett stopped himself.

"How many?" Jacen asked.

"Why should I tell you information that will get my brothers killed?" Fett asked reasonably.

Jacen looked into his drink, rolling the bottom edge of the glass on the table, and then looked back at Fett as he let the glass set back on the table.

"I could've killed you when you attacked me, but I didn't. What makes you think I want to kill anyone?"

"Jedi have a habit of wiping out Mandalorians."

"Confirmation: Master, this is true. While in the service of…"

"I know, Womprat," Jacen cut the droid off without taking his eyes off Fett's visor. "We all know that. And there is no denying it. But I also know that the lives of your brother Mandalorians have a much better chance of being preserved if I can help them, rather than waiting for them to get slaughtered by the Jedi and the GA when they attack us. I want to get this message to the Mandalorians…"

"That's a wonderful sentiment, Solo, but like I said, I lost them. They don't listen to me anymore."

"But you know who they do listen to."

"I told you to stay out of my head, Jedi."

"I wasn't in your head," Jacen said, "It's just blatantly obvious to me that in a community as small as the Mandalorians the former leader would know who all the major players are and where to find them. Not to mention that same former leader, that _peaceful _leader, would have a lot to gain if the others are removed from the picture…if you catch my drift."

"No," Fett said adamantly. "If the others find out I betrayed any of our own, I would be excommunicated."

"Understandable," Jacen said, leaning back on the bench. "Besides, I got what I wanted. Urik Ragash, who is currently operating out of Nar Kreeta. He claims to be Mandalore even though you beat him senseless the last time you saw him. Sorry, I was in this guy's head."

Jacen reached over and tapped the armour of the cloaked Mandalorian standing beside him with a blaster pointing at his head. "See? He didn't betray you guys." He waved his hand and fifteen Mandalorians appeared out of thin air around the bar, startling several of the patrons. "I should be going. Thank you, Boba."

Jacen looked up at the warrior blocking his way out of his seat. "I suggest you move."

"Why should I let you leave with stolen information?" The Mandalorian's grip on his blaster tightened.

"Possibly because there's a Vornskr behind you who is incredibly loyal to me, and is just waiting for an excuse to chew your leg off," Jacen said reasonably. Astro growled on cue from behind the Mandalorian. "Or because there are four other Jedi and an assassin droid around this bar who are all quite fond of me."

"Or if you don't back off I'll shoot you myself," Fett said, startling the other Mandalorian. "Solo's honourable. If he says he'll use the information to help us, he will."

"But, Mandalore…"

"You dare to question me, Roshi?" Fett roared, standing up and bringing his blaster with him. A cold silence filled the bar, and all heads were staring at Fett. The only movement Jacen could detect in the Force was the swift eye flickering of the other fourteen Mandalorians, likely looking for the four Jedi and the assassin droid, and the overflowing glass of knarr being filled, and ignored, by Wuher.

"No, Mandalore," Roshi said, lowering his head and blaster in shame.

"Excellent!" Jacen said, springing up and taking a few steps towards the door. The entire bar resumed their normal activities with the tension subsiding. "I'll be in touch, Boba."

"As will I, Solo," Fett returned. "By the way."

Jacen looked back at Fett over his shoulder. "Yes?"

"Someone put another bounty on your head. A huge one. Your old man will be jealous, even after inflation."

Jacen nodded his thanks and quickly left the bar, droid, and Vornskr on his heels.

-! #$%^&*()

Luke walked up to Booster's converted troop transport that was being loaded with various components of the Jedi data core, glad to finally be outside his office. He waved to Ben as his son went about his duties of loading equipment into the transport under Lowbacca's careful watch and walked directly up to Booster Terrik. An imposing man almost a hand span taller than Luke, Booster perhaps weighed twice what Luke did thanks to a sizeable belly. While a bushy beard, artificial holographic eye, and cigara complemented his gruff exterior, the near-giggling smile on his face betrayed his softer family side as he watched a holo from one of his grandchildren.

"You have every right to be proud of them," Luke said with a smile. "They're among our best students."

The holocube and smile vanished faster than Han Solo could draw his blaster.

"That Horn character sure doesn't help them out," Booster grumbled. "Bad genes in that one. Poor kids can't lift a leaf with the Force."

"No, but they can sure make you think they did," Luke said, pulling a slight smile out of the older man. "I'm told this is the last transport for equipment?"

"Yeah," Booster whacked the side of the ship with his knuckles. "After this data core you've got a few stragglers. I'm sure you can get them with the few other ships around here."

Luke nodded. "The last three squads of X-wings and pilots I want to keep around until we actually depart. I'll have Twin Suns escort the data core to the _Venture_, but I don't want to leave us too unprotected here before we make the final move. I've cleared transfer for two squadrons and half the defence fleet to go with you, so you should be plenty safe."

"I'd feel safer if half those pilots' voices broke," Booster growled. "Never seen so many twelve-year-olds flying X-wings."

"Only half of Twin Suns are students of Jaina's advanced starfighter class," Luke said. "Takes a heck of a pilot to get into her class. The rest are all graduates of it in their twenties. Academy's best."

"Yeah, I recognized half of them from when you dumped them on my ship in the war," Booster growled. "Eight years ago they were crying like babies, now those runts are flying X-wings."

"And look how your investment is being paid off – you have an excellent escort," Luke grinned.

"Do you even know how to be a pessimist?" Booster asked with false interest.

"No," Luke said with equally false seriousness. "Obi-Wan wouldn't allow that in my training."

[The ship is loaded, Master Skywalker,] Lowbacca chose that moment to interrupt. [It is ready to depart.]

"Time to ship out then, Skywalker," Booster shook Luke's hand solidly. "I'll see you on Coruscant in a few days."

"Thanks again, Booster. We do appreciate it," Luke said. "May the Force be with you."

Booster walked up the boarding ramp and punched the close button with a grin. "With this many Jedi following me around, I couldn't get rid of the Force if I wanted to!"


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

After a mind trick and a few illusions to ensure he was not followed, Jacen made his way to a less prominent bar in Mos Eisley's where he told his companions to wait for him. Noting the place was empty of everyone, including the barkeep, he sat down at the table where the Jedi were enjoying a few drinks. "Nar Kreeta. That's where the main guy's operating out of."

"Good job, Jace," Jaina said sarcastically. "Guess what we found out?"

Jacen thought for a moment, but shook his head.

"There's about a hundred Sith-loyal Mandalorians buzzing around this spaceport, and half of them followed us here," Nelani started.

"And half of them are pointing their blasters at us because they want to kill you before you could spread any information about their leader," Karth continued.

"And they told us to sit here and lure you to them so they could kill you before letting us go. Oh, and they took our lightsabers," Eriana finished dreamily. She alone seemed unconcerned.

"Ah, they're probably after the bounty on me, too," Jacen said. "So, I guess by me telling you guys about this Urik Ragash, you're targets too?"

"You got it, little brother."

"Oh."

"Oh?" Jaina asked angrily. "That's all you have to say? The Great Master of the Force Jacen Solo can't think up anything better than 'oh' when he finds out he just condemned his friends and only sister to the Mandalorian slaughterhouse? Did you forget your vocabulary when you were learning about the Force? Did your brain evolve to the point where it could get up and…"

"That's pretty rich coming from a stuck up snob like you," Jacen shouted at his sister. "How many times did _you _nearly get us killed with your stupid machines and stupid ideas? If I had a credit…"

"Who needs a credit when you need a brain!" Jaina shouted, standing up and knocking her chair over.

"I need a brain?" Jacen jumped up, pointing to himself, and then pointed at her. "I think _you _got deprived of oxygen when they were waiting for me – the better kid – to be born!"

"Oh, bring that up why don't you?" Jaina sneered. "How very adult of you crying about being born second again! Here's a news flash Jacen: _You'll always be_ _second best_!"

"Well, in some cultures the first born is considered the youngest because the oldest told them to get out to make sure its safe. You're nothing but a whiny decoy!"

"I may be a decoy but I'm the one who's been taking care of your sorry tree-hugging existence since day one!"

"NOW!" Jacen shouted. An astromech-sized hole appearing in the roof, followed by Womprat blasting himself through the hole on repulsor lifts and four active lightsabers appearing in Eriana and Jacen's hands. A second later, Astro leaped through the hole in the ceiling to follow Womprat, and blaster bolts started to rain down at the Jedi. One bolt grazed Jaina's shoulder, and another pierced Nelani's leg by the time the armed Jedi could move into defensive positions. Nelani went down with a cry of pain and Jacen tossed his spare lightsaber to Jaina. Karth received Eriana's second and moved to defend Nelani.

"Great distraction, Jaina!" Jacen said with a smile.

"Just doing my part!" Jaina smiled back, deflecting a dozen blaster bolts with ease. Jacen tossed Nelani a canteen from his belt.

"Pour this on the wound!"

Finally having a second to think as he reflexively deflected blaster bolts, Jacen noted that there were at least two Mandalorians at each of the windows and many shooting through holes through the roof. Their armour was highly protective against most forms of projectile and energy based weapons, and had surprising resistance to some Force based techniques. Jacen heard Karth grunt and could sense the pain from a blaster bolt that got past his guard and dispersed itself in his chest. A moment later grenades started rolling in, but Eriana was already tossing them back out the windows with the Force. Unfortunately, the grenades might only stun the Mandalorians.

"This is going to get ugly," Jacen told Eriana.

"No other way out of it," Eriana agreed.

"Up or down?"

"My turn for up."

Eriana jumped through the hole in the roof, and Jacen dove out the nearest window in a single bound. On his way through the window, two Mandalorian heads hit the ground while their lifeless bodies continued to fire out of reflex. Jaina's concern for her apprentices and herself rose with the other two Jedi gone. She was glad that whatever Jacen gave Nelani made her coherent enough to wield the lightsaber Karth had dropped, but Karth's injury concerned her. He had just collapsed to the floor and Nelani crawled over to protect him. A moment later, the only sound to be heard was the hum of several lightsabers.

"Jacen?"

"Over here," Her brother appeared at the front door of the bar, quickly moving towards Karth. He looked like someone who stopped by on a walk through a park. He called a bottle of water from behind the bar with the Force and began to pour it on Karth's wound while he murmuring something incoherent with his eyes half closed. Eriana's head appeared through the hole in the roof.

"Womprat's almost here with the ship," She called down. "Better get up here; you know how bitter he gets when he misses a good lightfight."

"We're good to go," Jacen said, taking his hands off Karth's stabilized injury and looking up. "Eriana, quickly get some of that Mandalorian armour off the bodies and find the missing lightsabers. We'll need at least six sets of armour, weapons, and any ID you can find. Take the bodies if you have to; we have to move fast and make them disappear."

"Gotcha," She called back and her head disappeared.

"Jacen, what are you planning now?" Jaina demanded, angry about the injuries her apprentices received from his crazy idea of a rescue.

"I'm planning on infiltrating the Mandalorian ranks," Jacen responded. He held up a device in his hand. "I got this off their leader. It has information about all the Mandalorian and Sith bases."

"When did you have time to read that?" Jaina said incredulously. "You jumped out of here, killed thirty Mandalorians, found a data card, and walked back in, what, twenty seconds?"

"What makes you think I have to read it to know what's on it?" Jacen asked back, looking slightly confused. He heard a familiar sound from above and gestured to his ship hovering above the bar. "After you."

-! #$%^&*()

The _Falcon _came out of hyperspace with a loud thud and the grace of a wounded Hutt.

"What was _that_?" Han and Leia both shrieked at the same time. Han sprinted out the door and Leia immediately took over piloting. She activated the sensors and used them to search for Saba's emergency frequency. A few moments later the sensors started bleeping in tune with the emergency transmissions and Han came back in.

"Kriffin' Jedi don't know how to warm up a ship properly," He said, dropping into his seat. "The whole backup life support system has to be replaced."

"Add it to the bill," Leia said, guiding the ship towards the homing beacon. "I'm sure Luke will cover it."

"He'd better. Okay, what have we here?"

"Saba's ship is about a hundred kilometres ahead," Leia responded and consulted the sensors again. "I'm picking up another ship in close proximity, but there are no signs of power. It looks like there was a fight. Saba's ship is barely putting out the homing signal."

"Alright, I'll give 'em a ring," Han flicked on the comm. "Saba, its Han. Ya hear me?"

"Would it hurt you to be less cranky?" Leia asked. "It's not like she isn't our friend."

"Talk to me after a full night's rest," Han growled and hit the PTT button. "Hey lizard-breath! You there?"

Only silent static answered him.

"Something's wrong," Leia said.

"Probably their transmitter."

"No," Leia protested. "There's something else going on. I sense danger."

Han looked at the HUD, watching the distance close below seventy kilometres, and then consulted the sensors. Unsatisfied, he fed more power into the sensor array and performed a thorough scan of the area.

"Got it," Han said, tagging two locations on the HUD. "Two ships behind the larger asteroids. Wouldn't have seen them without the particle drift sensor package Lando found."

"What shall we do?" Leia asked.

"Keep flying like we don't know they're there," Han advised. He retuned the sensors to scan for lifesigns now that they were within range and detected two on Saba's ship. "Looks like we're down two Jedi."

"I sense four," Leia disagreed. "Saba and Tesar must be in hibernation trances to conserve oxygen. They won't appear on sensors in a trance."

"Wake 'em up and let 'em know we're here," Han said. "We'll swoop in, dock, get 'em over here and take off before the pirates can get us."

"It doesn't work that way," Leia said helplessly. "Luke might be able to…"

"Fine," Han said irritably. "I'll be in the missile bay. Time our arrival to dock in fifteen minutes."

Han left Leia in the cockpit and nearly knocked over Threepio as the droid attempted to get into the cockpit.

"Just the professor I was looking for," Han grabbed Threepio's arm and dragged the stuttering droid along. "Time to earn your keep."

-! #$%^&*()

Queen Tenel Ka Chume Ta'Djo sat in her throne barely listening to the rambling of a representative from Charubah, one of the planets in her cluster, as he argued against the need for the Hapan defence fleet. After a few moments of Jedi meditation, she tuned back in.

"…and in addition to the cost of maintaining this fleet, we believe that the queen should not control a fleet of ships that dwarfs a GA battlegroup! Hapes does not need that much firepower in this time of galactic peace."

Tenel Ka realized that was her cue to speak, but she had forgotten this diplomat's name. Jarvis? Jaren? Jaden? It didn't matter.

"I ask of you, how many capitals ships did we have before the Yuuzhan Vong war?"

"Approximately three hundred ships," The man replied.

"And what are we up to now?"

"Nearly four hundred and sixty."

"And how many of those four hundred and sixty do you want me to mothball?"

"At least two hundred," He said. "With advances in technology we have gained from the war, our ships are more efficient and capable than ever. We do not need as many as before, and the credits saved could help out war infants on Charubah."

"And what, might I ask," Tenel Ka leaned forward a bit. "Would you have to gain from it? Which of my cousins are you trying to help out by making me appear weak so they can try to kill me? There are no war infants on Charubah. They were all relocated to our facilities on Reboam."

The man wilted under her glare. Through the Force she was able to see the truth come out, even though her newfound political shrewdness had unravelled his plot.

"Guards, seize this traitor," Tenel Ka said lazily. A few moments after the stuttering man was removed, one of her newest advisors, Ali, entered the chamber and handed her a report. She took the report and stood up, walking towards the indoor garden attached to the throne room. She paused, having sensed Ali was still by the throne, and gestured for Ali to follow. To Ali's surprise, Tenel Ka hung her silk cape on a tree and kicked off her shoes, apparently taking great pleasure in feeling the soil beneath her feet. They walked together in silence as Tenel Ka read her report, and Ali stumbled along in nervous anticipation trying to figure out what she should be doing. When she finished reading, Tenel Ka sat down on a bench and indicated for Ali to join her.

"What is your interpretation of this?" Tenel Ka asked. Ali was new to working in the palace barely having worked a week, but Tenel Ka sensed loyalty and intelligence in the girl. She was, however, still awestruck and extremely formal around her queen. The request of her interpretation seemed to shock the girl.

"I…um… It means that the Jedi are being more liked in Hapes," She studdered. "Oh, Your Highness. It means the Jedi are more liked in Hapes, Your Highness."

Tenel Ka smiled at the girl's nervousness. "Ali, why are you here?"

"I…sorry, your highness," Ali stammered wide-eyed. "You asked me to follow you…"

"Please, when we are alone, call me Tenel Ka."

Ali looked more and more like a stray animal caught in a bright light, bringing a small smile to Tenel Ka's face. After waiting for some kind of audible, comprehensible response from Ali, she continued.

"You are here as an advisor," Tenel Ka said matter of factly. "Chosen because you scored very highly in your aptitude tests, and because you are the kind of person I can trust with my affairs. That is why you are here."

"I understand, your highness," Ali said quietly with bowed head. Tenel Ka presumed she said that merely to save face, but chose to ignore her suspicions.

"Tenel Ka."

"Tenel Ka," Ali repeated.

Tenel Ka thought for a moment and posed a very painful question for her to ask.

"Ali, what side of an Ewok has the most fur?"

If Ali was confused before, it was nothing to what she was now.

"The…back?"

"The outside," Tenel Ka said dejectedly. She thought some humour might lighten up her new assistant, but it only made herself feel worse. For some reason, her mind had been wandering to thoughts of Jacen for the last month. Thinking of him, the best friend she ever had, while he travelled off on some journey of discovery made her wonder what became of him…and what would never become of them.

"I don't get it," Ali said with the polite tone of someone questioning her boss' sanity.

"Neither do I," Tenel Ka admitted. "Perhaps my thoughts have just been elsewhere today."

She turned and looked at her new assistant, who, for once, looked her in the eye.

Tenel Ka sighed. Suddenly, she didn't appear to be the most powerful woman in the Hapes Consortium, but merely a tired, lonely person.

"I am not someone you need to fear," Tenel Ka explained, smiling sadly. Ali felt the impulse to comfort the queen as she would have comforted her younger sister.

"I am more your friend than your enemy," Tenel Ka straightened her shoulders and looked at Ali squarely. "And I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on this report. Without the formalities."

Ali finally smiled and relaxed. "Well, as you saw, the majority of the planets in the cluster are taking to your leadership very well. The idea of a Jedi running things was once thought to be very questionable, if not out-right unthinkable, but you're viewed as arguably the fairest of all the leaders we've ever had. Obviously your family isn't too happy, as they all want the throne, but they grudgingly agree that you are holding the cluster together better than they ever expected. There are also some holdouts, mostly descendants of the planetary leaders from back when we were a pirate society, but I'd say about ninety percent of the population feels safer and more secure with you in charge than with your parents or your grandmother."

"This is good news," Tenel Ka agreed. "I would like you to…"

"Queen Mother!" One of Tenel Ka's servants rushed into the sanctuary, and she felt dread growing through the Force. "A fleet has just come out of the Transitory Mists and is attacking our defence forces. They're Mandalorians!"


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"Master Skywalker told us to check into your contact and go back to Ossus! Why are you setting course for Nar Kreeta?"

Jacen spun the navigator's chair around to face his sister. "Master Skywalker asked us to…" He closed his eyes for a second, recalling the past. " 'To determine what the Mandalorian threat amounts to.' We have yet to do that."

"We know what the threat is!" Jaina exclaimed. "The majority of the Mandalorians have joined the Sith, and want to wipe us out. What more do we need to know?"

"And how many Mandalorians are 'the majority?' " Jacen asked reasonably. "What technology and resources do they possess? What are their manufacturing capabilities? What damage are they capable of? Of all people, why have they gone to the Sith for help? Or why did the Sith choose them when they have been historical enemies? Are there any others the Mandalorians are bringing with them against us? Why do they think they have a chance at beating us now of all times? Where are their operatives currently hiding? How much damage can they do to the Alliance?

"Until we can answer even half of these questions, we don't have a kriffin' clue what the threat 'amounts to,' Jaina. Further investigation is implied in his request."

Tired of arguing, Jaina collapsed in the co-pilot seat. "To think, seven years ago, you were telling me to be more responsible not fly off the handle."

Jacen stopped. A disastrous mission that nearly sent Jaina to darkness, and resulted in Jacen being kidnapped by the Yuuzhan Vong unintentionally came across the twin bond, but he could not tell who had sent it. Their younger brother was lost during that mission and Jaina had thought both her brothers were dead. Her recklessness was possibly the reason why the surviving Jedi escaped alive, and his conservative stubbornness, not to mention Anakin's sacrifice, was the reason the mission had succeeded. That mission still gave both siblings nightmares.

"I was trying to protect you – protect us – from things we couldn't handle or understand."

"And we can handle them now?" Jaina asked. The lack of edge in her voice indicated to Jacen that she knew he sensed her thoughts and that she was asking as a peer, not a nagging older sister or Jedi Master.

"I hope so," He turned to look at her, emotions from the memories showing in both their eyes. "I don't know anyone else who can, especially if the Council is bent on stopping us from doing anything every step of the way."

Jaina's eyes hardened at his attack on the Council, but he spoke before she could. "I know, I know. We should heed the advice of the Council. Jedi shouldn't be running around free without guidance, and I do admit that I'm a bit more headstrong than they'd like."

Jaina cocked her head with a sarcastic look, but her expression did soften.

"Okay, much more headstrong than they can handle. But sitting on our hands isn't going to remove the Sith threat."

"We could call Ossus on a secure line," Jaina suggested, getting back to the mission. "At least let them know what's on that datachip you found."

"Womprat's been working on it since he got on board. There seems to be some interference between here and Ossus," Jacen sighed and pointed to the navicomputer. "I've set a course to Kashyyyk. We have to go through that area anyways, and we won't be too far out of the way from Nar Kreeta. We could always _pretend_ we were going to Ossus but wanted to drop in at Kashyyyk first to get the info in as soon as possible."

"When did you get so sneaky?" Jaina asked.

"It's something your dad taught me," Jacen replied with a wink, and turned back to his controls.

"Jacen," Jaina said softly after a moment's contemplation. "I want to know more about your training."

"What's that?" Jacen adjusted a few power settings on a control panel and started flipping through various display screens.

"You said that Yoda and the others are holding you back so you can't be more than a regular Jedi. I saw what you did back in the cantina. Not even Uncle Luke could do that. What exactly are they stopping you from doing?"

Jacen paused once he set the navicomputer to calculate the course, and turned to look at her.

"Well, it's more a measure of influence than anything, I suppose," Jacen said. "What they don't want is for Eriana or me to become another Palpatine, Vader, or Bane."

Jaina's blank expression stopped him from continuing.

"Bane was the first Sith in the line of Palpatine. He implemented the 'Rule of Two' and organized the apparent death of the Sith, turning it into a secret society that slowly worked it's way into what Palpatine became, finally able to destroy the Jedi."

"Ah."

"Yeah. So, as long as we're heeding someone else's guidance and not trying to take over planets or enslave the Wookiees again…"

Jaina laughed, but said nothing.

"I think I know where you're going with this," Jacen said. "They're obviously going to interfere if we start ripping planets in half, exploding stars, or working ourselves into a politically powerful position – as if I'd want to deal with politicians after what they did to Mom – but for the most part we can use our abilities as we believe they should be used."

"You can rip planets in half?" Jaina asked incredulously.

"Well, I did split a large asteroid once," Jacen said sheepishly. "But it was uninhabited and there were miners trapped in it. We saved them. And I tell you the planet it was orbiting enjoyed the most prosperous mining operation in their recorded history because it was easier and safer to get to the metal."

"Don't tell Uncle Lando that one," Jaina started playing with some controls on her side of the cockpit, still trying to imagine how one could break a planet in half, but a nagging thought arose.

"What about you trying to run the Jedi Council? Isn't that too influential?"

"I'm not trying to do that," Jacen said defensively. "I'm trying to get them to work in an open-minded way that can be respected, not as a bunch of fools in fancy robes. They need to think things through and trust each other as well as the Force. I have no interest in serving on the Council whatsoever. In fact, I think Uncle Luke should step down."

"Are you crazy?" Jaina half-shouted, half-laughed. "He's the only thing keeping them together!"

"My point exactly," Jacen said sombrely. "I fear what would happen if he took even a week's vacation."

Jaina sat back and stared out at the stars around them as Jacen went back to his displays.

"They're pretty smart," She finally said. "Yoda and the others."

"They've had a long time to look at their own mistakes." The navicomputer beeped signalling its readiness, so Jacen activated the hyperdrive and joined her in staring out at the mottled blue view. "They know how the Sith got them, and they want to prevent it from happening again. They also knew that one leader for the Jedi wasn't enough. Even after the Jedi were wiped out, Obi-Wan and Yoda still counseled each other through Qui-Gon. Maybe it's a slower way of doing things, but reasoned action is always better than blindly jumping into it."

"Do you have any idea how many times you've contradicted yourself?" Jaina asked. "First you're saying they need to act; now you're saying they need to deliberate. Which one do you want? You can't have both."

Jacen smiled to himself. "It's all about balance and trust, Jaina. Once the Council learns to be less selfish and help others, they should be fine. They need to abandon petty internal politics and look at the bigger picture. Yes, it is important to have a strong foundation to support helping others out, but I think they're past that point. Now it's just building for the sake of building more than anything."

"How far should we go to help people out?" Jaina asked. "There are so many shades of grey its ridiculous. And what make you think you have all the answers?"

"The capacity for good or evil is in all beings," Jacen said. "Dark Side, Light Side…The Force doesn't have sides: People do. If I've learned anything, it's that. Most people who fall to darkness and say 'the Dark Side made them do it' are in denial that they have that darkness within themselves. Nothing made them do it, except _themselves_.

"And I never said I have all the answers, Jaina. I just…I go by my gut. I trust my instincts to do what's right, and when I can't do that…I think of you. You, mom, dad. Anakin. Uncle Luke. Lowie and Tenel Ka. I think of all the people I care about most, and I ask myself, 'What would they want me to do?' or 'What would they be proud of me to do?' It's served me well."

Jaina didn't quite know what to say to that, so she nodded softly as Jacen started a diagnostic on the power grid.

"You missed one," She suddenly said. "How much should we do to help out?"

A shadowmoth of a memory suddenly fluttered into Jacen's mind.

"Define 'help,'" He responded with a grin.

-! #$%^&*()

**From the Private Journal of Jedi Master Jacen Solo**

-With comments by B. Wrarm, Jedi Librarian-

-Approximately 35 years after the Battle of Yavin -

I always knew Jaina was stubborn and bossy, but I never thought I would see the day I would out-stubborn her. Our arguments have made me wonder if she has changed more, or if I have. I know what she'd say. I know what I'd say. But I think we both have answers neither of us would admit to anyone, even ourselves.

Yes, I will cryptically leave that analysis to your imagination. Aren't I a horrible journal writer?

-Pause-

I don't know why, but something feels amiss. The Force is telling me we _cannot_ return to Ossus, but I don't know why. I don't sense danger in us going there, or what our purpose out here is. –Pause- I only sense that we will know, eventually.

I should get some rest. In a few hours we'll drop out of hyperspace and try contacting Ossus again. Hopefully they'll let us continue with the ideas Eriana and I came up with.

-Yawn-

Sleep sounds so nice right about now.

-End-

-! #$%^&*()

"That went well," Jacen said with enough bitter sarcasm for even Threepio to detect, shutting down the comm unit and staring at it silently.

"What do we do now?" Eriana asked.

"Return to Ossus, like the Council said," Jaina responded dutifully. "Jacen, it was a good idea, but it's not plausible. The Sith would recognize us immediately, and if they don't the Mandalorians would. We're not exactly unknown faces around the galaxy."

Jacen continued to sit in quiet contemplation, ignoring his sister.

"Looks like we don't have a choice, Jace," Eriana agreed.

"And it's not like we're being totally shut down," Jaina said in a reasonable tone. "They just want to deliberate a bit more before choosing a course of action."

Jacen nodded, but not to Jaina. "Yoda and the others are indifferent," Jacen said. "It's not a matter they particularly care about either way. I suppose a couple days on Ossus won't hurt."

"Great," Jaina said, turning to the navi-computer to start calculating the jump to Ossus.

"In the mean time, assuming the Council ignores us, what are our options?" Jacen asked.

"Sit around on Ossus for a few days before checking out the Mandos ourselves," Eriana suggested. "You're skilled enough to hide yourself from the Sith and disguise your face without them knowing, and they have no idea who I am."

"Plus we'll have the Mando armour we _borrowed,_" Jacen agreed. "Know anywhere we could get voice modification implants, Jaina?"

"Wait," Jaina said, turning away from the navicomputer. "Shouldn't we at least give the Council a chance to decide on something? You're the one who just told me you'd prefer if they did things for a change."

Eriana smiled smartly and stared at Jacen, not offering a comment. Jacen regarded his sister.

"Well, I'm up for a game of sabbac if you'd like," Jacen suggested, "It is a bit of a journey to Ossus. Or we could…I don't know. Pass the time constructively and plan something?"

"Shall I get my apprentices?" Jaina asked bitterly, referring to their earlier argument.

"No," Jacen said shortly. "They're better off in their healing trances."

"Jacen, at least give the Council a chance before you condemn them," Jaina pleaded, dropping the bitterness. "They might surprise you."

"Okay," Jacen sighed; secretly glad to have one less weight burdening him. _Maybe I am getting a little obsessive trying to help out. _"We'll let the Council figure this one out."

"Thank you," Jaina's relief was obvious in her smile.

"But if they don't do anything in three days, we're heading out," Jacen indicated himself and Eriana. "We can't let this trail get too cold."

"Agreed," Jaina said, "And I'm going with you."

Jacen nodded, sensing that she believed it was the right thing to do.

"Now that that's settled," Jacen stood up and made his way to the door. "I'll be in the training room meditating if anyone needs me."


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

"Master Solo? Jacen?" A timid voice came from the door to the training room. Jacen was meditating cross-legged, trying to stay in the exact middle of the room. Floating a metre and a half off the ground with his back to the door, he spun himself around to see Karth standing at the door looking slightly worried.

"Yes, Karth, please come in," Jacen extended his legs, and resumed a normal human stance. He quickly tucked an object into his robe before Karth could see it. "How is your injury?"

"Oh, good," Karth said, pointing to the bandage. "Bit of bacta, plus whatever you did to me seemed to help. Still working on those healing trances, too."

"Good to hear," Jacen said approvingly. "What can I do for you?"

"I was…Well, I don't quite know where to start," Karth now seemed more agitated than Jacen first suspected.

"Were you looking for advice on healing trances?"

"No, no," Karth dismissed his suggestion. "I have the basics pretty good and I just need to practice, but it was when I was in my healing trance. I…" His voice trailed off.

"You think you had a vision," Jacen said. It was not a question.

"Yes," Karth looked slightly relieved. "Do you know of any Jedi on a planet full of really good looking people with really nice buildings?"

"One or two," Jacen responded. "Can you describe this Jedi?"

"Well, she was really really good looking. Umm…by human standards, anyway," Karth said, slightly embarrassed with talking to another man after his time in close quarters with Jaina and Nelani, although he was still deeply troubled and uneasy. "Red hair, green eyes, great body, but she only had one arm. Well, one and a half. She looked really important too. I think I've seen pictures of her before, but I can't place her. Oh, and her lightsaber was shaped like a giant tooth."

"I know who you're talking about," Jacen said. He smiled slightly at the memories he shared with this particular Jedi and turned to hide the smile by pretending to examine one of the training weapons. "Go on."

"Well, I…I saw her die in...In your arms."

"What?" Jacen whirled around without even trying to hide his shock. "Explain."

"The, the planet she's on, it's going to be attacked by the Sith," Karth elaborated. "They'll kill her and take the planet over. That was the rest of the vision."

"When is this going to happen?" Jacen demanded.

"I, I didn't get the exact date, but it, it feels pretty urgent," Karth stammered. "I almost felt like taking the ship over and setting course for her, but I don't know where she is!"

Jacen flicked his finger towards the comm panel on the wall and made his way to the door. "Womprat, drop out of hyperspace immediately and set course for Hapes. Prepare to redline the engines and try to raise Master Skywalker on subspace."

-! #$%^&*()

"Master, we have a problem," Jacen's voice rang clear over the holonet display despite some background interference distorting his image. His impatience was as tangible as his greeting was short.

"What is it, Jacen?" Luke asked.

"First, I'm sending you a data file with what I learned from my contact. Second, Karth had a vision of Tenel Ka being killed and the Sith attacking Hapes. I'm going with all possible speed to help out but I fear we won't be enough. We'll need ships and ground forces."

"Understood," Luke already started keying orders into his computer. "I'll see what I can do."

"Master, I fear there could be more to this than just the attack on Hapes," Jacen said carefully. "Other planets may be in danger."

"It is likely." Luke stopped his typing and pondered for a moment. "Most of our resources are on their way to Coruscant now for relocation. We're quite tied up. Even Ossus is largely undefended with only half the Alliance fleet and three squadrons of fighters."

"They picked the perfect time to attack," Jacen shook his head. "Master, when he returns to the Order, you should look at Karth."

"Why?" Luke asked. "It's not exactly uncommon for Jedi to have visions."

"How many Jedi do you know of have had visions?" Jacen asked.

"Yoda, Leia, yourself, and I," Luke supplied.

"No," Jacen said. "Only us and mom. Yoda looked into the future, but did not have visions like we have had. The only other Jedi I know of who had visions like us was Anakin Skywalker."

"How do you know that?" Luke's face went white. "This is the first _I've _ever heard of that."

"Trust me to have learned a few things in my travels, Master," Jacen said impatiently, mentally cursing himself for letting that fact slip. "I don't know what these visions mean, but Karth must be examined more closely when he returns."

"Understood," Luke was annoyed at being snubbed but was too professional to let his curiosity create more delays in a situation like this. "Proceed to Hapes. I'll rustle up some help."

"May the Force be with you, Master. And thank you."

After the transmission ended, Luke sat back in his chair to contemplate what Jacen had told him.

"How could Jacen know Anakin saw visions?" Mara asked, slipping into Luke's office.

"You heard all that?" Luke asked.

"These doors aren't exactly thick," Mara said wryly, taking a seat across the desk from him.

"True," Luke said quietly. "I don't know. Maybe he met someone who knew Anakin when he was a Jedi."

"What if he met Anakin himself?" Mara suggested.

"What?" Luke asked. "No. My father's been dead for thirty years."

"You said you saw him on Endor, with Yoda and Obi-Wan," Mara said. "Maybe he's come back."

"Impossible," Luke dismissed the idea immediately. "Obi-Wan told me he had to join the others and couldn't come back."

"What if he lied?" Mara shot back. "What if he was just waiting for the right time to come back? Jacen did say he heard Anakin's voice a few years back, long after Anakin was supposed to have gone 'to join the others.' And did you notice he once tried to call our apprentices 'padawans?' That's Old Jedi Order terminology. Plus he seems to have mastered every lightsaber form Palpatine ever told me about the old Order using, and the only one Palpatine ever feared. Where else could he have learned that from? I'm starting to think Anakin isn't the only one he has seen."

Luke considered her words in silence for another moment.

"Now's not the time for this," He said finally. "I need to organize a defence force for Hapes. Mara, can you find Corran and Kyle and tell them get their squadrons together? I'll issue orders to have their fighters prepared and contact the Republic to ask for help."

"Sure," Mara said. "But don't think I'll let you drop this, Farmboy."

"Don't worry, I think you already won," Luke smiled at her. "I'll talk to him when he gets back from Hapes. You always make too much sense."

"Can I get a recording of that?" Mara asked, standing up. "I mean, for the next time I tell you to do something."

"Get out of here," Luke said with a hearty chuckle.

"Yes, my slave," Mara winked. "But before I go, Tresina just arrived from Velmor."

"Excellent," Luke said. "Please have her report to me immediately."

-! #$%^&*()

**From the Private Journal of Jedi Master Jacen Solo**

-With comments by B. Wrarm, Jedi Librarian-

-Approximately 35 years after the Battle of Yavin, Hours before the Mandalorian Battle of Hapes-

Tenel Ka is in danger and we're racing to help her out. I haven't been this nervous in years. I…I don't know what to think. I haven't talked to her in years. I don't know if she's seeing someone or… Who am I kidding? She's the queen of sixty-three planets. I'm sure she'll find someone better than me. I just don't know what to make of this. I'm going to see her, and I don't know if she'll even survive. Maybe my going there kills her. Could I be responsible for her death? Visions are always so unclear.

-Long pause-

I love her. That's all I really know. I have to go, no matter what happens.

-End-

-! #$%^&*()

The _Solo Quest _punched through the Transitory Mists amid an entire fleet of unknown ships of all sizes ranging from small fighters to something that looked like an inflated disk-shaped Imperial Star Destroyer.

"Sithspawn!" Jacen flicked the internal comm system on while taking the ship into a dive, narrowly missing the engines of one of the freighters. "Jaina, get up here! Karth, Nelani, get to the turrets!"

He sensed the attack of several fighters and performed another gut-wrenching manoeuvre at top speed while activating the combat systems. Jaina stumbled into the cockpit grabbing anything bolted down to prevent herself from being thrown about.

"Where do you want me?"

"Where I'm sitting," Jacen responded activating the defensive auto-pilot built into the ship's navicomputer and vacating the seat. "I'm going to take Eriana, Astro, and Womprat with me to defend Tenel Ka on the ground. Drop us off, then stay on board and join the Hapan defence."

"Are you sure?" Jaina asked jumping into the pilot's seat and disengaging the auto-pilot. "It's _your _ship."

"Of course I'm sure! You're the best pilot in the sector and your students aren't in any shape to fight right now." Jacen stumbled as she took a sharp turn. "Just take good care of her."

He fell into the communication seat, leaving Jaina to fly the ship. He issued orders to the occupants, telling them to either prepare for ground or space combat. Next, he called the Fountain Palace and informed them of his approach. After a brief argument about authority, Jacen sent a message to Tenel Ka through the Force to get her to intercede on his behalf, and closed the connection just as the _Quest_ was approaching the outer atmosphere of Hapes. He extracted the assassination protocol chip from the side pouch of the captain's chair and whispered "May the Force be with you" to his sister before he made his way towards the boarding ramp. Eriana, Womprat, and Astro were already there waiting for him in full combat gear. While Astro did not wear any armour, Eriana was dressed in her traditional Jensaarai armour modeled after a Bha'lir, and Womprat had affixed a regenerative shield module and a secondary energy pack to his frame. Jacen entered the antechamber and closed the door to the hallway.

"Womprat, open up. I have got a present for you," Jacen held up the assassination protocol chip. "Just don't forget who your boss is."

"Acknowledgement: Understood, Master," A small compartment opened up on the droid's body shell revealing a memory chip reader. Jacen insert the chip into the slot and several lights on the droid's casing went from passive green to ominous red. A faint whining of charging capacitors rang out.

"Announcement: Master, I do believe all systems are fully functional and are ready to blast some meatcans!"

"Good," Jacen said, holding onto a support bar to steady himself against the movements of the ship while addressing his companions. "Our objective is simple: We protect Queen Mother Tenel Ka from the Sith and the Mandalorians. If you can do that and protect the Hapans as well, all the better – but our main priority is Tenel Ka. Without her, the entire Hapes Consortium could fall to the Mandalorians by Hapan law and we'll lose one of the GA's most powerful founding members.

"Womprat, stick to the Mandalorians. The Sith might be too much for a droid, even one designed by a Sith. If you can, find a good vantage point and blast them with your sniper scopes. Aim for known weak points in the armour. Astro, look for any Sith sneaking around the Palace. Eriana, you and I will defend Tenel Ka. They'll likely send the Sith after her. If there aren't too many, break off and take on the Mandalorians."

Jacen could sense they were nearing the ground, so he punched the button to lower the ramp. They were still several kilometres from the surface.

"And finally," He shouted over the noise of the wind, "Do _not_ listen to Tenel Ka if she tells you to leave her alone. If you thought Wookiees were stubborn…"

-! #$%^&*()

"Ready," Han returned to the pilot's seat and put his headset on. "Meewahl and Cakhmaim, ready for some action?"

Two low purrs indicated alertness.

"Good," Han said. "Don't forget to turn the turret until _after_ I say so."

Han slowed the _Falcon _down and aligned it fifty metres from the crippled skiff so he could see inside the cockpit.

"Hail them," Han ordered.

"What about the stalkers?"

"They won't attack until we dock," Han pointed out. "Until then, we're not a sure kill. And we need to kill another two minutes."

"Jedi skiff, this is Leia Organa Solo aboard the _Millennium Falcon _responding to your distress call. Please respond," Leia sent, unable to argue with Han's logic. A few moments later she repeated it and was greeted with a hissing sound.

"It iz good to see a familiar ship," Saba's distinctive Barabel voice transmitted. "Oxygen iz low over here. We need to evac immediately."

Leia looked at Han, who returned some body language suggesting her crazy for thinking they should do as Saba suggested.

"Initiating docking procedure," Leia transmitted. Han started pointing at the chrono frantically and held up a finger with emphasis. "Be advised we need one minute to prepare our hatch for deployment."

"Pleaze hurry," Saba urged. "We sense great danger nearby."

"Understood," Leia put the comm into standby.

"Way to blow it…"

"She's just looking out for us," Leia stopped him. "I'll prepare the hatch."

"Not yet, Captain," Han said sarcastically, watching the chrono. "Wait for it."

He held up five fingers and slowly lowered them one at a time. When he ran out of fingers, a bright ball of fire appeared behind each of the asteroids Han indicated had an enemy, and Han flashed a satisfied smile.

"Now we can go."

"Not yet," Leia played with some controls on the sensor array and marked a target on the HUD. "Third target dropping out of hyperspace. Weapons armed and shields hot."

"Sithspit," Han rammed the throttle to max and set a course directly at the enemy ship. "Weapons free, shields full to front!"

The sensors told Han it was a heavily modified skipray blastboat.

_Doesn't anyone use stock ships anymore?_ Han thought. _They're so much easier to blow up._

"Meewahl, aim half way down the central spine," Han directed. "But don't hit it until we're right on top of them!"

"What are you planning?" Leia asked, taking shots at the Skipray with the new forward-mounted blasters. Han was still racing at the Skipray at full throttle, intently staring out the viewport past the angry red bolts of energy diffusing across the front shields.

"_Now_, Meewahl!"

At the last second, Han flipped the _Falcon _onto its side and equalized shields as the Skipray shot past. A moment later the _Falcon_ rocked hard from the other ship exploding.

"What was that?" Leia asked as Han set a course for Saba's ship.

"Had Meewahl hit the torpedo tubes," Han said, finally bringing the _Falcon _on top of Saba's skiff. "The ship was remote piloted. Whoever was piloting it didn't care how beat up it got. They wanted to fly it into us."

"Why'd you fly so close to a ship trying to crash into us?"

"Engines were tweaked for speed, they could've hit us no matter what and I need to be inside their shields to hit the target," Han said absently, locking the _Falcon _into position. An explosion-scarred crate floated by the front viewport marked:

mal Detonators – Ha Care

"See what I mean?" Han pointed at the crate. "That would've been an even bigger boom. Now put that Force of yours to use and haul that in, will ya?"


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Tenel Ka raced into her throne room with Ali in tow. Several of her guards were already waiting to escort her from the war room where she was overseeing the battle to a safe haven outside the Palace. Her advisors insisted upon her safety in the event the Mandalorians landed an occupying force, and she grudgingly agreed. When they crossed the throne room towards the back, the doors flew off their hinges and struck the frontmost guards, killing them instantly. Tenel Ka used the Force to deflect the doors away before they could do more damage, and shouted to Ali to run away. The guards started firing at a lone hooded figure that sent the blaster bolts back at the guards with the casual flicks of a red lightsaber. Within seconds, Tenel Ka was alone. She barely noticed that Ali had escaped when the man flicked off his robe to reveal a shaven tattoed head and some nasty dental work.

"When I kill you, Hapes will belong to the Sith," The human said ominously.

"My death has yet to come." Tenel Ka ignited her lightsaber in time to deflect his first attack, barely twirling out of the way as the lunge came in faster than she expected. Before she could catch her footing a series of attacks came in with lightning speed and accuracy that had her back-peddling on her heels and entirely on the defensive. She desperately used the Force to flick fallen blasters and other objects around the throne room at the Sith, but he easily took them out with his lightsaber or telekinesis and still had the time to continue his vicious assault. A powerful slash came from low on her right, across her front and back high to the right that caught her lightsaber and twisted it out of her hand. It landed several metres away leaving her surprised enough that he grabbed her by the throat with the Force to immobilize her.

The Sith Lord stared into her eyes and drew his lightsaber back for the final blow.

"And so the mighty Hapes Cluster falls."

-! #$%^&*()

Jacen's team jumped off the boarding ramp five metres above the main landing platform for the Fountain Palace and the _Solo Quest_ accelerated spaceward immediately. It took some fancy flying on Jaina's part to dodge the anti-aircraft guns, but it was not difficult for a seasoned pilot and Jedi Master. Obviously Jacen's message did not get through. Jacen, Astro and Eriana hit the ground running, using the Force to ease the transition from freefall to full-out sprint. R12-47 drove off the boarding ramp and used his repulsorlifts to cushion his fall. Small thruster packs built into his frame accelerated him at a speed close to that of the Vornskr and Jedi in their all-out sprint towards the front line of the Hapan defences. The guards tried stopping their approach with words and a blaster shot or two, but could do little to stop the four intruders as they vaulted themselves several metres above the guards' heads without slowing.

They approached the second line of defence just outside the palace walls and stopped running to speak to the guards. Jacen saw the highest-ranking officer and jogged over to him, hands held out to his side, as if he was asking for a hug, to indicate he was not a threat.

"Where is the queen?" he asked.

"Who are you?" The officer inquired, grip tightening on his blaster.

"You do not need to know who I am," Jacen said.

"I do not need to know who you are," The officer repeated.

"Queen Tenel Ka is…?"

"…in the throne room, second hallway to the left, five floors down," The officer mindlessly supplied.

"We can go inside."

"They can go inside," The officer called to his troops.

"Thank you."

"No, thank _you_."

The team continued on using the officer's directions, this time much more cautiously. Lightsabers in hand and senses alert, they jogged at a brisk pace towards the throne room until Astro stopped and whined.

The Jedi enhanced their senses and heard the sounds of lightsabers clashing. Immediately they sprinted towards the throne room.

At what seemed a good opportunity, Astro and Womprat broke off to fulfil their orders. A few moments later Jacen and Eriana broke into the Throne room to the sight of several bodies of Hapan guards littered across the floor and a tattooed man roaring as he shoved his red lightsaber through Tenel Ka's chest.

-! #$%^&*()

Breaking through the atmosphere, Jaina took a moment to marvel at the performance of the _Solo Quest,_ and immediately regretted it as a pair of Mando fighters strafed her port shields, reducing their power by a third. Jaina sensed one of the fighters explode to her right, complimented her companions on the kill, then set after the second fighter. A moment later the combined firepower of the two turrets destroyed the Mando fighter and Jaina smoothly swerved around the explosion while activating the communication array.

"Hapan defence fleet, this is Jedi Master Jaina Solo aboard the _Solo Quest_ requesting permission to join the battle. I am awaiting orders."

"Jedi Solo, welcome to the fight," A female voice replied. "I see you took out two fighters; thanks. They were an escort for the ground forces that our turrets missed. Please form up with Alpha Squadron on our left flank and help with the fighter screen." She rattled off a list of numbers indicating the squadron comm frequency.

"Acknowledged," Jaina switched frequencies while manoeuvring the ship towards the left side of the fleet. "Alpha Leader, this is _Solo Quest_ seeking orders. Command told me you're my boss."

"_Solo_?" A gruff voice responded. "Any relation to that pirate who married lucky?"

"Yes," Jaina said through clenched teeth. "Call me 'Sticks.' How can I be of service?"

"Good to hear, Sticks," Alpha One responded. "Form up with Flight Three. Nine's your lead.

"Heads up, Alphas; we have a new ally and we have incoming. Ten marks at three-three-five mark two. Flight One, flight Two, form up on me and accelerate to attack speed. Flight Three, you have our backs."

Jaina manoeuvred the _Quest_ behind the four fighters in her flight group with an uneasy feeling and watched the other eight fighters accelerate and engage the Mandalorian fighters. An eye blink later, the fighters tore through each others ranks and explosions erupted from both sides.

"That's our cue, Flight Three," Nine commed. "Lock missiles and close in on the Mandos and engage. Fire at will."

"Jaina, something's wrong," Karth's voice came over the internal comm.

"I sense it too," Jaina confirmed, the sense of unease in her stomach growing. "Be wary, we're going in."

Jaina's flight accelerated towards the oncoming Mandalorian fighters as the enemies turned to engage Flights One and Two. A volley of blaster fire reduced the Mandalorian fighter group to three, and Flight One reduced it to zero. Glancing at her scope, Jaina noticed that Alpha flight was reduced to eight fighters and herself.

"Well done, Alphas," One congratulated, to Jaina's amazement.

_Rogue Squadron, these guys are not._

"Lead, Sticks," Jaina commed. "I'm reading a wave of fighters incoming and several support ships. It looks like those fighters were testing us, and now…BREAK! Everyone BREAK!"

The Force made Jaina throttle up hard and yank the controls to starboard as a squadron of Mandalorian fighters decloaked behind Alpha Squadron and immediately opened fire.

-! #$%^&*()

Luke sat back and tried to sigh away his helplessness and frustration. Oddly enough, he felt even more frustrated.

"I understand the shortages, Cal," He said desperately to the holographic image of the Chief of State that was straining his patience. "But Hapes is one of our strongest allies. We need to help them, and two squadrons of fighters are just not enough! There is an entire taskforce on training manoeuvres not nine hours away and thirty percent of the personnel are seasoned veterans."

"I would love to know where you get your information, Skywalker," Cal said darkly. "I didn't even know about that fleet."

"I have some friends on that fleet," Luke said evenly. While true, his information came directly from Jan Ors on Coruscant from Alpha Blue's command centre over an encrypted Jedi frequency, but Cal did not need to know that. "And I know several of them, including General Celchu, owe their lives to the Hapans twice over from the Vong war. I could contact the fleet directly, if you would prefer."

"I should be glad that you are not running against me, Skywalker," Cal grimaced with a hint of a grin. "You would make a formidable politician. I will contact the fleet myself. I only hope they can help."

"May the Force be with you," Luke bowed his head, and flipped to a second channel that started blinking.

"Hey…, way to send us into a…ambush! ... Got the …and we're coming … to Ossus," Han's voice came out of the speakers on Luke's desk with static, and no holo image appeared. "And tell those … working there not to touch my … -ip again! That's the … they fry my life support!"

"Sounds like your comm system is damaged," Luke said. "Are you reading me?"

"Yeah, yeah…ding you fine," Han said. "It's the…ransmitter. Took a nas-… be on Ossus in a couple hours."

"Wait," Luke said, quickly consulting a holo-map, "I just got a request from Jacen and Jaina on Hapes for assistance. Apparently a Mandalorian fleet is attacking, and they need all the help they can get."

Several bursts of static drowned out Han's response, but Luke had a feeling it was a response he did not want to hear.

"Quit playing with that Goldenrod! Yeah, we'll go," Han said dejectedly. "We should be okay. Hapes isn't far."

"Thank you, Han," Luke said gratefully. "Make contact with the _Solo Quest_ when you get there and divide assets as you see fit."

"Yeah, it's not my first party, Kid," Han said sarcastically. "I'll let them know when I'm there."

"Good luck," Luke said, and shut off the comm with a sigh. A moment later Cal Omas's private line begain to blink for his attention again.

_What now?_

-! #$%^&*()

Blaster bolts diffused across the starboard shielding of the _Solo Quest _as five of Jaina's remaining squad mates exploded around her and her gunner turrets spat energy back at their attackers.

"Attention Hapan fleet," Jaina yelled while using the Force to unconsciously weave around as many blaster bolts as she could. "Mandos have cloaking capability! Repeat, Mando fighters are cloaked!"

As the Hapan fleet came into view on Jaina's turning arc a moment later, massive explosions across the fleet told her they already knew. Another of her fighters exploded, and her gunners claimed two of the attackers before Jaina's mind recovered from the magnitude of the sudden attack.

"Alphas, form up on me." Jaina said, automatically taking over command. She pushed the fleet out of her mind and focussed on the immediate attackers. Three Mandalorian fighters remained in their vicinity, each tailing their own target, and nothing else was on sensors for twenty kilometres.

"Can't shake them!" One of her pilots yelled out as several blaster bolts destroyed one of his wings.

"I have you!" Jaina called, changing course to intercept. "Change course to zero-niner-eight."

"Got it!" Nelani called over the comm. "Our tail's clear, Jaina."

"Lock onto Mando fighter straight ahead." Jaina replied, arming missiles and targeting the ship. At three kilometres away, the missile was unlikely to hit a fast moving target. However, the Mandalorian changed course once target lock was detected, but did not abandon its target. _Jumpy little thing, aren't you?_

"Sticks, this is Seven." Jaina's second remaining pilot came across the comm. "I'm clear, how can I help?"

"Seven, good to hear you." Jaina replied. "Form on my wing. We're going after the one chasing Five."

"I'm faster." Seven replied while forming up. "I can intercept."

"Negative." Jaina replied, consulting the Force and easing up on the throttle slightly while playing the missile lock over her target. The Mando ship jumped again. _Perfect._ "Lock a missile on Five."

"What?" Five and Seven exclaimed together. Another volley of blasts narrowly missed Five.

"Five, change course to zero-three-five and prepare to pull up and dive hard on my mark." Jaina ordered. "Seven, lock your target and fire now!"

A blue plume of light erupted on Jaina's port side and sped towards the other Hapan fighter, which was now facing directly towards the _Solo Quest_. Jaina locked her targeting system one last time on the Mando, and ordered Five to execute. Five climbed momentarily, causing the missile to jump, then disappeared from view, exposing the Mando fighter as it pulled up to escape the target lock. The missile ploughed directly into the middle of the craft before it could follow Five, shattering the enemy craft as blaster bolts from the twin turrets ensured the ship was dead.

"Five, Seven, form up on my wing." Jaina ordered, surveying the battlefield like nothing had happened while setting a course towards the Hapan fleet. "Status report."

"Seven, here. No damage, three torpedoes remaining. Shields at full."

"Five. No starboard wing or lasers, but engines are operational. Should be okay outside of atmosphere. Five torpedoes left. Shields…" A crackling sound came across the comm followed by a series of Hapan curses. "Shields _and _fingers fried."

"Sticks," Seven's voice broke into Jaina's thoughts. "Wasn't there an entire wave of ships attacking us before those Mandos hit us from behind? I'm not seeing them on sensors."

"Yes," Jaina replied through clenched teeth. "It was an illusion of some sort to distract us from the cloaked ships. Heads up, we're coming up on the fleet now. We'll strafe across the closest _Nova _and clear as many fighters as we can, then drop some torps into those gunships on the other side. After that, find a ship to land on, Five. You're in no shape to stay out here."

Jaina surveyed the battle one last time before committing to her attack. Up close, the Hapans appeared to be recovering from the initial attack, and did not sustain as much damage as she initially feared. The surprise attack left several ships with damaged engines while others lacked shields. The Battledragons and Novas fired turbolaser blasts like hailstorms, shredding through the approaching Mandalorian capital ships. Try as they might, the Mandalorians could not keep up with the Hapan rapid-charge turbolasers combined with the tri-turret design. The formerly cloaked gunships lost their element of surprise, and their relatively weak shielding quickly succumbed to the wrath of the Hapan capital ships before they could effectively reduce the defence fighters. The Hapan and Mandalorians fighters seemed to be evenly matched, which left the Hapans with a tactical advantage between capital ships. A console beeped at Jaina, joining the Force in indicating an impending threat. Several hundred yellow blips appeared around the red Mandalorian capital ship blips, accelerating towards the green Hapan ones.

"On second thought, Seven, how good are you at hitting missiles?"


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"NO!" Jacen screamed angrily, clapping his palms together. The grinning Sith Lord, still staring into Tenel Ka's eyes as her life faded from them, did not know what happened. He simply disappeared in a flash, lightsaber and all. Jacen sprinted faster than he ever had in his life to Tenel Ka's side and caught her before she hit the ground.

"Hey, Your Highness," Jacen said softly, eyes watering with tears. "Miss me?"

Tenel Ka smiled as best she could, her lips trembling from the pain of her injury.

"Save Hapes, my friend. I…" Her body trembled and convulsed before finally falling limp.

"Time for a nap," Jacen said, closing his eyes and placing a hand over her wound, cradling her limp body in his other arm.

"Jacen!" Eriana called to him.

"Not now," Jacen muttered, concentrating on Tenel Ka.

A second later Eriana called again with a note of increasing panic in her voice. "Is _now_ a good time?"

"Nope."

"_Now?_"

Jacen ignored her and focussed solely on preserving the last flicker of Tenel Ka's life with a healing trance. He distantly heard the sounds of lightsaber fighting and after an eternity, or mere seconds, Jacen finally laid his friend down and surveyed the situation.

Eriana was a blaze of motion fighting an increasing number of Sith with the lethal efficiency that could only be reached through Vaapad. While she was far better skilled than her opponents, she was outnumbered and had to resort to delaying tactics rather than killing strikes.

_Time to even the odds,_ Jacen thought angrily, calling the lightsaber he dropped by the door to his hand. He firmly clipped it to his belt and reached out with his empathic abilities to link with Eriana so their minds were one, and so she would know _exactly _what he was doing. While she continued fighting, he stared into his hands and willed some light into existence. Pouring his anger and rage over his fallen friend into the light, he created a few sparks of various colours that started to grow into a coherent ball of light as they sparked across his fingers. Adding fury to the mix, the ball of light grew. And grew. _And grew_. When it developed into a massive ball of multicoloured light the size of his chest, he squeezed the embodiment of his pain and anger together so it bulged away from him and he _pushed_. A massive arc of expanding light spread away from Jacen towards Eriana and the attacking Sith. At the right time, Eriana pushed back against an attacking lightsaber to upset the balance of her opponent and jumped, leaping high over the wave of light to avoid its touch. Two of the Sith attempted to follow Eriana's leap, but Jacen's control over his fury was not over. He used his mind to call whips of light to lash out at the inventive Sith and send them tumbling to the floor. Once the shockwave had dissipated against the walls of the throne room, Jacen counted twenty-three unconscious Sith warriors.

"Not good," Jacen sighed.

"It never is, for the Jedi," A sinister voice said from behind.

Jacen did not sense an immediate threat, so he turned around slowly to look at the new entrant. He wore a simple black robe that hid his body with hood draped over his head. His venomous red and yellow eyes glowed at Jacen from beneath the hood, causing Jacen to laugh softly.

"Cool trick. Care to teach me that one?" Jacen asked sarcastically. "I never quite figured out the glowing eye thing. My sister does it at parties all the time and always teases me about it."

The shadowed man answered by igniting his crimson lightsaber.

"Somehow I didn't think you would," Jacen said with mock regret. "But in the interests of saving time, could I ask you to put the lightsaber away? I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself. Those things are quite dangerous in the hands of children."

"Jedi coward!" The man yelled, hood falling to reveal the face of a bald, tattooed human. "I was trained by Lord Bulq himself! You are not worth the energy it will take my lightsaber to remove your head!"

Tired of the banter, Jacen quickly spoke to Eriana as she came up to his side. "Take Tenel Ka and get her into a bacta tank. The infirmary is two floors down. The healing trance is working, but she needs all the help she can get. I'll keep Admiral Arrogant busy."

"What if there are more Sith around?"

"Unlikely, if this goon is showing his face," Jacen replied. "I'll have Astro join you. Go." He turned his attention back to the Sith.

"So you wanna play with lightsabers, eh?"

He held out his hand, raising twenty-three lightsabers from among the unconscious Sith to surround himself with a cage of ignited blades, all pointing at the Sith Lord.

"I'm game."

-! #$%^&*()

Ben found his mom in a secluded clearing in the nearby forest practicing her lightsaber routines with a metal sword after he wandered around for a short time. Lowbacca asked him to "Take a walk with the Force." So he took a walk, and eventually found his mom. He presumed the Force led him here, because he really had no idea where he was anymore and had merely trusted his feet to find somewhere to take him.

He sat down at the edge of the clearing, watching her movements. He realized this was the first time he had seen either of his parents practicing with a blade, despite having heard of their prowess as fighters within the Jedi Order. She was as fast, fluid, and precise as anyone he had ever watched; maybe even more so. In the last month of his Jedi training, he had watched several training exercises of Jedi sparring with lightsabers even though he had not had the chance to use one yet. Every time he watched the graceful dance of Jedi Knights sparring he longed for the chance to build and wield such an amazing weapon. His interest in the ancient art had given him enough of an eye to see a skilled artist at work, and his mom was definitely a skilled sword fighter.

He knew better than to interrupt his mom in her exercises. A couple years ago he tried to surprise her by shouting "Boo!" from beside a door she just opened, and was rewarded with a painful back fist across the face that left him crying for hours. Mom and Dad quickly established a "No scaring anybody" rule at home.

What amazed him most was the focus in her eyes as she trained. The only thing he could compare the look to was a holoprogram he watched about Corellian Sandpanthers as they hunted nerfs. The focus and intensity in her eyes were as intimidating as her blade work was deadly.

After several minutes, she finally noticed Ben and threw the sword to stick in a tree not a metre from where he was standing.

"Hi Ben," Mara said with an exhausted smile, moving to retrieve the sword.

"Hi Mom," Ben smiled. "Good throw."

"Thanks," She yanked the sword from the tree and examined the blade. "Now if only I could do that with a lightsaber."

"What's the problem?"

"Wind resistance, for one," Mara said, replacing the blade in its scabbard and sitting down in front of her son to stretch. "The lightsaber blade is weightless, but it does create drag. I still haven't figured out the pivot point."

"Jaina has," Ben smiled.

"I know," Mara growled as she reached for her toes. "I gave her the idea. I think she reweighted her hilt. How's your training going?"

"Good," Ben said happily. "Master Lowbacca has taught me some good stuff. But all the other kids are jealous that I have a Jedi Master when they're all stuck with Tionne and Kam."

"Well, you are rather…" Mara stopped in mid-sentence and looked to the sky.

"Mom?" Ben asked.

"Something's happening," Mara said, rolling back over her shoulder and to her feet. She immediately headed towards the Jedi compound and Ben instinctively followed. "Let's get back to the Academy. Stay with me."

-! #$%^&*()

To his credit, the mysterious Sith Lord fought quite well. Jacen attacked with five blades at a time of varying speeds and movements, cycling them with reserve lightsabers to keep the Sith guessing. The Sith was also able to take out several of the lightsabers by destroying the hilts. Jacen's plan was more to keep the Sith occupied rather than to defeat him outright so he could analyse the Sith's fighting style. However, few plans made on the spur of a moment survive very long.

"Query:" Jacen asked with an abundance of sarcasm, "How do we get information from an enemy that has a new nostril through his head?"

Jacen rolled the lifeless head of Sith Lord upward with the toe of his boot, examining the neat hole between the fading red and yellow eyes as a thin tendril of smoke wafted out of it.

"Answer: Master, Sith meatbags rarely divulge any information, especially under the strain of excruciating pain. If any assassin droid would know that, it is I.

"Consolation: Besides, Master, we have twenty-three other meatbags to torture and mentally dissect as you so please."

"Remind me to cut your pay," Jacen said, looking at the droid hovering horizontally several metres above, just below the ornate ceiling. How R12-47 had managed to shoot the Sith Lord between the eyes from that angle, especially given the speed the Sith was moving at, was something Jacen did not know. Nor did he want to. "How are things on the Mandalorian front?"

"R-r-r-report: The Mandalorians seem quite uninterested in attacking the palace directly, Master. Thus far, they are laying waste to the helpless civilian meatbags and are massacring the ill-equipped Hapan militia in a rather glorious bloodbath, leaving the palace for the Sith. As you can see, the Sith are failing miserably at their task thanks to my services. I abandoned the attack on the Mandalorians as my expert battle mind came to the conclusion that my services will do very little against such a large contingent."

"Good, and bad, I suppose," Jacen summarised. "Have you heard from Master Skywalker or Jaina?"

"That would be a negative, Master."

"Okay," Jacen sighed. "Take a quick run through the halls and meet me in the Infirmary two floors down from here. I'm on my way there now."

-! #$%^&*()

An impossibly large number of torpedoes streamed towards the Hapan vessels, propulsion flares illuminating the Mandalorian ships like a new sun. What the Mandalorian ships lacked in turbolasers, they made up for with their ability to hurtle massive volleys of proton torpedoes at their targets. Orders went out to all turbolaser and laser turrets to switch from attacking the ships to targeting the projectiles, effectively reducing the torpedo screen at the expense of covering the fighter squadrons, though dozens of torpedoes still pounded against the Hapan shields. A particularly dense group of torpedoes broke through the shielding of a pair of battle dragons, obliterating them and a dozen fighters around them from both sides. The Nova class cruisers were largely undamaged due to their sleek inverted-V design and advanced shield emitters, but a well-timed strike from the Mandalorian fighters was able to take advantage of the torpedo salvo to converge on and destroy a Nova. Several other ships, mostly battle dragons, suffered varying degrees of damage and were out of the fight. Once the torpedo wave had passed, the surviving two-thirds of the fleet returned fire on the Mandalorian capital ships, methodically blasting torpedo turrets with their highly accurate turbolasers. Several well-placed strikes from the battle dragons and the Hetrinar assault bombers claimed two Mandalorian ships, but this was not enough to stop another salvo of torpedoes from being launched.

Jaina Solo wove between torpedoes blasting them as quickly as her gunners could keep up. Something was nagging her about the activity of the missiles. Something her mind could not place. The second wave of torpedoes approached, filling Jaina with a feeling of helplessness. Calling upon Seven and Five to join her, she slammed the throttles to their walls, and raced towards the oncoming torpedoes.

"_Millenium Falcon _entering Hapes system, seeking clearance to – STANG! Now that's a battle!"

"Dad?" Jaina asked. "What're you doing here?"

"Just helping out," Han's voice came back over the frequency. "Where's your brother?"

"Fountain Palace," Jaina said. "Mandos landed shock troops and he went to deal with them."

"Great," Han muttered. "I've got a delivery for him. I'll be back soon."

"Who's that?" Five asked Jaina.

"Hope for your planet," Jaina responded. "Look sharp, torpedoes in range in five, four, three…"

-! #$%^&*()

The Hapan queen bobbed gracefully in the bacta tank, healing faster than the Jedi Healing Trance that saved her life could heal her on its own. Having highly concentrated bacta straight from Tyferria definitely helped. Unlike the regular diluted bacta available virtually everywhere except on Tyferria, the concentrated form was as potent as it was expensive. The strongest bacta was said to be capable of healing injuries as severe as crushed spinal columns, and could sometimes rekindle the fire of life from a mere spark. When combined with a Jedi Healing Trance, especially one of Jacen's design and a Jedi of Tenel Ka's strength, recovery could be measured in hours rather than days or weeks.

"How is she?" Jacen asked Eriana as he entered the Infirmary.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking," Eriana said sarcastically.

"Well, I figured that, given the Sith body parts littering the hallway."

"And you immediately thought that I was okay because of some bodies?"

"Yep," Jacen said with a smile. "Yours wasn't one of them."

"Do the Jedi have an investigations department?" Eriana asked with mock interest "Your stunning powers of deduction would do wonders for them. You should teach a course. 'Jacen's guide to being a jerk and indicating the blatantly obvious.' "

"Chapter One:" Jacen continued. "Find a sarcastic partner who ignores the blatantly obvious."

Both Jedi chuckled, and their eyes fell back on Tenel Ka. Jacen put his arm around Eriana's shoulders and squeezed her.

"Thanks for taking care of her."

"Her recovery is proceeding remarkably well," Eriana rested her head on his shoulder, taking the opportunity to relax. "She'll be fine soon."

"Good. We'll need her to fight the Mandalorians."

"Any Sith left?"

"Not around here. I took a minute to meditate, and I didn't sense any more Force users within a hundred or so kilometres."

"They could be hiding themselves from the Force."

"Possible, but unlikely," Jacen said. "During the Vong War I developed an ability to look beyond Force footprints and see life. It took me a while to get the hang of it, but I found there are other ways to find life signs sensitive to the Force even if they're hiding themselves or making themselves 'small' like I taught you. The range is quite limited compared to the Force, but I can tell there are no more Sith in the capital city."

"When were you going to tell me about that trick?" Eriana pushed him away, slightly offended.

"I tried to," Jacen said defensively. "But that was when you were trying to rewrite the engine protocols and Womprat kept zapping you because he thought you were rewriting his speech protocols to make him speak Woolimander."

"Oh, yeah," Eriana voice was distant and thoughtful. "I probably should've rewritten his voice patterns."

Two blaster shots echoed from the hallway, followed by two metallic thunks and a comically menacing voice.

"Rhyming Battle Cry: All meatbags fear, for R12-47 is near!"

"I've always wondered how that would sound in Woolimander," Jacen agreed.


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

"How's it going up there, Sticks?" After Jacen had ensured Tenel Ka's safety with Eriana, he took Womprat to patch into the Palace communication array and make contact with the _Solo Quest._ "Hope you didn't scratch the paint!"

"Funny, _little _brother," Jaina shot back. "The Mandos are putting up a good fight, but so are the Hapans. I hate to say it, but it looks like the Sith might…" a loud noise came over the comm. "Sithspit! Er…Sorry 'bout that Jace. Yeah, the Sith might actually win this one. By the way, the _Falcon_'s en route to you. Dad said something about a delivery for you."

"Great! The Sith are toast down here, but the Mandalorians are making short work of the Hapan defense force," Jacen relayed. "Tenel Ka's in a bacta tank, and should be up in about an hour. Luckily they keep some of the concentrated stuff straight from Tyferria around here for her. If Uncle Luke got those blowhards in the Council to approve my request, you should find things much easier up there shortly. Once Tenel Ka's out of the tank, we're going to take the fight to the Mandos."

"Tenel Ka's tanked, and you're beating the Mandos?" Jaina said, quite obviously distracted. "I didn't realize she's that good a fighter drunk. What about the Si- Watch it, Sev!"

"The Sith are polishing my boots," Jacen said, chuckling softly to himself while Jaina spewed a long list of curses, some in languages Jacen hardly recognized. "And want to take you on a date."

"Keep given' them the boot today," Jaina replied, oblivious to the joke. "Gotta go, big fight up here. Keep at it. _Quest_ out."

"Query: Master, is your entire meatbag lineage so clueless?"

"Get me Master Luke on Ossus."

A few moments later a miniature hologram of Luke's body appeared. "Hello, Jacen, how are things going on Hapes?"

"Jaina's getting her butt kicked in orbit, and the Hapans are getting slaughtered down here by the Mandalorians. At least all the Sith on the ground are out of the fight," Jacen summarized. "Also, we got Tenel Ka into bacta about an hour ago with a lightsaber burn that grazed her heart and barely missed her spine, but she should be on her feet in another hour. Once she's out of the tank, we're going to start rallying the troops against the Mandalorians on the ground. However, this would go a lot easier with a Republic task force and a couple squadrons of Jedi in X-wings."

"Two hours in a bacta tank for that much damage?" Luke asked.

"Its concentrated bacta and I've been helping her out a bit," Jacen said. He wanted to avoid mention of his time warping abilities which were currently making those two hours seem like a day for Tenel Ka.

"Understood," Luke still looked leery. "Well, I have good news and bad news. The nearest Alliance fleet is on its way, but it is eight hours out. Also, it'll take about that long to get some Jedi there in X-wings from Ossus. Corran and Kyle are already on their way with one squad each."

"There are no Jedi stationed closer?" Jacen asked in disbelief.

"Not with X-wings, and almost none with battle ready ships," Luke said in dismay. "But the good news is that your parents should be arriving in system momentarily with the _Falcon_. They were transporting Saba, Tesar, and their apprentices back from a mission that went sour. I've instructed your parents to make contact with you upon arrival in the system and to drop Saba off at the Palace if they can't find you."

"Jaina informed me they just arrived, but that is good news," Two Barabels and their apprentices would go a long ways to helping the fight, and the _Falcon_ with his parents flying it was worth a handful of Jedi. "What about the Noghri?"

"Needed for the _Falcon_'s turrets."

"Understood. And thank you," Jacen said gratefully. "This battle is pretty messy though. Hapes will need some serious rebuilding efforts once the Sith are removed from the system."

"Jacen, there is more bad news," Luke looked upset, almost bitter. "After I had Cal send a fleet to help out, the senate received a message from the Mandalorians which is inspiring them to withdrawal support from the Jedi. In summary, the Mandos want _us_, not the Republic. The Republic doesn't understand why they should put their necks on the line for the hundred or so of us, especially considering they don't believe the Sith are back. They don't see our evidence as compelling, and there are groups still holding out that Leia assassinated Othrul. They're refusing to support us with any material, military or otherwise. If the Mandalorians stick to their plan to attack us alone, the Republic won't get involved. The Senate has already voted. In fact, it is the fastest vote they've had in five years."

"That's ridiculous!" Jacen exclaimed. "The number of times we got our heads _chopped off _for them during the Vong war, and they won't back us up? And whom will they attack next? They'll take the entire Alliance over one member at a time!"

"I already went over this with Cal Omas," Luke's weariness came through the video. "After some very bitter words on both sides, he terminated the connection on me. It looks like we're on our own. At least they haven't tried rounding us up yet to hand over to the Mandos."

"What about Hapes?"

"As members of the GA, they are entitled to military and economic support according to the Charter everyone signed."

"Didn't the Jedi sign that?"

"Yes," Luke said bitterly, "but Cal was quick to point out that there is a clause exempting assistance if a particular group, such as Hapes or the Remnant, goes to war over an internal or external dispute that does not affect the other parties. The only way around it is if the other parties are willing to get involved, and the former Republic is not interested in helping us. Recall how the Bothans aren't getting any support in their quest to hunt down the Vong."

"This doesn't make sense," Jacen said. "_We're _being attacked by an external force!"

"I think there is more going on than what meets the eye," Luke said. "Several planets have claimed they want to separate from the Alliance if the Jedi stay in. To them, it seems a couple hundred Jedi aren't as important as sixty-three planets and a powerful fleet. We believe they are being bribed with resources out of Mandalorian space, being offered the chance to jumpstart their economies by opposing the Jedi. It's a dirty game, but they are playing it."

"This is ridiculous. Maybe the Empire or Hapes will be interested in backing us up once this is over" Jacen mused. "Pellaeon still owes us a favour or two."

"Yes, but as you said, Hapes has a huge rebuilding effort ahead," Luke sighed. "Jacen, now isn't the time for this conversation..."

"Interruption: Excuse me Master," Womprat interrupted, "But I am receiving a communication from the _Millenium Falcon_."

"I'll let you go," Luke said. "Jacen, your mission is to liberate Hapes from the Sith and Mandalorians. Do not fail. May the Force be with you."

Jacen nodded as the transmission ended from Luke's end and he asked Womprat to put his parents on.

"Hey Kid, we've got a delivery for you!" Han Solo's voice boomed over Womprat's speaker system.

"I hope it involves two lizards, two humans, and four lightsabers," Jacen replied.

"That and more," Han said happily. "Got us a crate of thermal detonators."

"Finally some good news," Jacen said. "Bring the goods to the Fountain Palace, Dad. I'll meet you at the north landing pad and clear your approach. Better hurry, Jaina sounds like she could use some help up there."

"_Falcon_ out!"

"Womprat, I need you to falsify some ID so the landing pad guards know I'm a good guy," Jacen said thoughtfully. "Nothing to do with Jedi. Something about Tenel Ka's personal guard. How long will it take?"

"Estimation: Thanks to my superior slicing abilities, as developed over the ..."

"Threepio, give me an estimation of time."

Womprat emitted a burst of annoyed static. "Re-Estimation: Approximately five minutes, Master."

"You have two," Jacen corrected. "Until then, I'm going to check on Tenel Ka."

-! #$%^&*()

"Interruption: Excuse me Master, but I am receiving a communication from the _Millenium Falcon_."

"I'll let you go," Luke said. "Jacen, your mission is to liberate Hapes from the Sith and Mandalorians. Do not fail. May the Force be with you."

Luke terminated the connection to Hapes as the door to the communication room opened. Mara rushed in wearing her standard combat gear. Ben, wearing in a miniature combat outfit of his own, was on her heels.

"What's going on?" Luke demanded. Combat gear was almost never worn on Ossus.

"The Mandalorians," Mara said heavily. "They just dropped out of hyperspace and demolished the Republic fleet in orbit before they knew what happened. Our planetary defences are active but they're sending drop ships outside the shield perimeter. Hapes was just a diversion to draw our best away from here. Luke, we don't stand a snowball's chance on Mustafar."

Luke left Mara behind in the communication room to try signalling for help, but he did not expect her to find anyone who would be willing to go head-to-head with a Mandalorian fleet. The Jedi who had just left were in the communication blackout of hyperspace, and the Republic had already made it clear where they stood on helping the Jedi. He made his way to his and Mara's apartment and replaced his Jedi robes with his combat gear. Fully armed and armoured, or as much as a Jedi would allow himself to be, he headed for the younglings' dorms and activated his comlink.

"Lowbacca, Kyp, Tionne, Kam, Cilghal, this is Luke."

A grunt signaled Lowie's acknowledgement, but the others were unheard of.

"Lowie, what's our status?"

[Except for several in X-wings, I have the remaining Jedi and administrative staff in the _Jade Shadow,_] Lowie said. [Your X-wing had to be removed to make room, and is waiting for you in hanger twelve.]

"Good work, Lowbacca," Luke acknowledged. "I'm making a final sweep of the dorm areas. Have you heard from Kyp and the other Masters?"

[Mara went to look for you, while Kyp and Kam started to organize our defences with X-wings and blasters,] Lowie replied. [The rest are with me.]

"Do you know if anyone is missing?"

[Five young Jedi.]

"I'll look for them," Luke said. "Lowbacca, once everyone is on the ship, get out. I'll have Mara and Ben join you shortly. Take every Jedi you can and head to Coruscant. I will notify you if I find anyone and can reach you. If I cannot, leave without me. Repeat: You are not to wait for me."

A moment's silence crackled over the comm.

[Understood,] Lowie barked reluctantly.

Luke called Mara and told her to report to the docking bay, then took a moment to meditate. He searched in his mind for the missing Jedi and found them near the middle of the campus, half way between Kyp's line of defense and the docking bay. He started off at a sprint.

"Kyp?" Luke called into his comlink.

"M… Skywalk…?" Kyp's voice came across the comlink. The Sith had to be jamming the ground communications. "Wh…or…atus?

"Tracking stragglers," Luke called, hoping his response would get through. He augmented the transmission with empathic messages. "You?"

"Found…niper rif…try…hold advancement bac…First wave is…down easy. Must be…lower ranks…cannon fodder…"

"How long can you hold them?" Luke asked, finally reaching the building he felt the missing Jedi in. He burst in and continued to hone in on their life signs.

"…minutes …most. …peat two min…s at…" Kyp's voice continued to break up.

"No heroics Kyp," Luke said. "We're about ready to go. Bug out when you need to."

"Ack…ged."

Luke finally found the Jedi: five younglings not even Ben's age. Startled at his approach, one of them swung a length of pipe at him that struck his wrist.

"Ow!" Luke exclaimed, more surprised than hurt.

"Master Skywalker!" The kids exclaimed. The one who struck him dropped the pipe and looked like he was about to die of shock.

"Hi kids," Luke said rubbing his wrist. "Come on, we have to go. Master Lowbacca is waiting to leave."

"Master," One of the kids grabbed his sleeve. "I'm scared."

Luke knelt down and put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "That's okay, Karvin. So am I."

"You're _scared_?" Karvin asked with the tone of someone who was just told water was dry. "But, you're a _Master_!"

"Masters get scared too," Luke explained patiently. Time was running out. "Right now, I'm scared that you might not get to safety."

"Aband…osts…Luke…can't hold…try blast…X-wings," Kyp's voice came from Luke's comlink.

"We have to go, _now_," Luke said gently but firmly, taking Karvin's hand and leading him towards the exit. The others followed.

"Lowie, I'm coming with the kids. Give me one minute!"

[I'm coming to you!] Lowie roared back.


	24. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

"Officer?" Jacen asked of the CO for the palace guards on defence of the landing pad.

"Who are you?" The CO inquired in a gruff voice. Jacen's sudden approach from the palace did not seem to startle him at all. He passed the officer the falsified ID card that labelled him as "The Queen's Most Secret Protector." While somewhat true, it was not what Jacen had in mind when he asked Womprat to make a fake ID.

" 'Most Secret Protector?' " The CO asked. "You don't look very secretive."

"Don't tell anyone that!" Jacen slapped the man's shoulder with an over-abundance of sarcasm. "How am I supposed to keep it secret if you're blabbing about to everyone?"

Unimpressed, the officer ripped the card in half. "Who are you?"

"Jacen Solo, Jedi Knight and personal friend of Queen Tenel Ka," Jacen decided this man was intelligent enough to handle the truth, and recognise someone not trying to kill him. "I'm expecting a delivery at this landing pad momentarily, and I would appreciate it if your guards didn't try shooting it down."

"Jedi Knight, eh? I've seen Jedi Knights. You look like a kid compared to them."

"Why do I get the feeling if I introduced myself as 'Yoda,' you still wouldn't listen to me?"

"Yo-who?"

"Never mind," Jacen shook his head. Some people were harder to read than others. A familiar sound called Jacen's attention to a point in the distance. "My package is arriving. Have your guards stand down."

"Just a minute little..."

"Would you prefer me taking over you body with my mind and having my new favourite puppet issuing orders?" Jacen snapped. "Or would you like to save us both the time, effort, and, in your case, humiliation and do it yourself?"

"Umm...yeah, okay," The officer looked uneasy. "Guards, stand down. Ship coming in with delivery for the Jedi here."

The guards did not lower their weapons, but they did seem less willing to fire. The anti-aircraft weapons still tracked the _Falcon_'s approach.

"Hey Officer Marley!" One of AA-gunners called out. "How many ships does that Jedi have coming in?"

"Only a black Corellian YT-1300," Jacen called back. "Why?"

"There's about half a dozen fighters firing at it!"

"Wonderful," Jacen shook his head. "Womprat, get tied into that turret. I'll take this one."

"Acknowledgement: Acknowledged, Master." The astromech rolled off towards the turret Jacen had indicated.

"Hey, you can't just..."

Jacen held up a finger to Officer Marley, using the Force slightly to intimidate the Officer. "I was shooting targets from the _Millenium Falcon_'s gunner turrets since I could walk. And I have Jedi reflexes. And when you consider that there are four Jedi and my parents on that ship, I don't think you want to see my reaction if one of these _kids _took out the _Falcon_ instead of the Mandos. Understood?"

"Erm...go ahead, Master Jedi," Marley said grudgingly. "But the trash can?"

"I've forgotten more from that 'trash can' than you'll ever learn," Jacen laughed, pulling himself into the turret.

Jacen assessed the situation with the _Falcon_ using the long-range gunner optics. The effective range of the weapons was two kilometres, and the Falcon was two and a half out, closing fast. Sure enough, several fighters that seemed to have an uncanny knack of avoiding the fire from the two Noghri were trailing the _Falcon_. Closing his eyes, he rested his hands on the controls and let the Force take over. He waited until Womprat started firing, and seven shots later the _Falcon_'s tail was clear.

"Good shooting!" The gunner said while retaking his position.

"Thanks," Jacen said. "It helps when you have someone else shooting at them to make them go where you want them to."

Several moments later the _Falcon_ hovered by the ramp just long enough for four Jedi to jump out before blasting skywards. It was no time for pleasantries.

"This way, I'll bring you up to speed on the way," Jacen waved the Jedi over, leading them back to the Infirmary.

-! #$%^&*()

The _Falcon _tore through the atmosphere and raced towards the starburst explosions lighting space around Hapes to join the Hapan defence fleet.

"Jaina, where are you?" Leia broadcasted on a Jedi frequency.

"I'm the dot at the front surrounded by big explosions!" Jaina replied. "Who knew Jedi could hit torpedoes so well?"

"Keep it up, kid," Han complimented while surveying the battle. "Hey, did you notice the missiles are attracted to the Battle Dragons, not the Novas?"

"Yes, Dad," Jaina snapped. "I noticed that while getting shot at by countless torpedoes and fighters because I have thirty pairs of eyes! Stang! Watch your sensors, Nelani!"

Han entered the battle chasing several fighters, lining up easy shots for the Noghri gunners while Leia accessed the ship's sensors.

"Han, you're right," Leia confirmed, as dozens of torpedoes bombarded the Hapan ships. Fortunately the gunners' accuracy seemed to be improving about reducing the number of torpedoes getting through, but the Mandalorians had just released yet another volley. "The torpedoes seem to be guiding themselves towards the Battle Dragons and ignoring everything else. Some torpedoes should have gone for the Novas, but went for the Dragons-"

"Master Solo, if I may say so," Threepio interrupted. "It appears to me that the torpedoes-"

"Shut up, Goldenrod," Han stopped Threepio as an explosion rocked the _Falcon, _requiring Han to pull a sharp turn and realign on some fighters. "What were you saying, Leia?"

"If we could only find out why they are targeting the-"

"But Mistress Leia!" Threepio exclaimed. "The torpedoes-"

"Not now!" Han shouted as a pair of missiles collapsed the port shields and sent the _Falcon_ into a sharp spin.

"Gravity!" Threepio exclaimed. "The torpedoes are attracted to gravity!"

"What?" Han and Leia both asked as Han pulled out of the spin. Another set of explosions woke Han to his senses and he jumped out of his chair to reallocate power while Leia sent the ship into a gut-wrenching dive.

"I noticed earlier that several torpedoes were attracted to Hapes' moon, which seemed quite odd," Threepio elaborated as the gravity forces pulling the ship prevented Han and Leia from speaking for a moment. "The Battle Dragons have significantly more mass in comparison to the Nova Cl…"

"So we can use gravity mines to distract the missiles!" Han finished while taking his seat again, already looking for more targets. "Brilliant, Professor! Now get on the comm and tell the Hapans that!"

-! #$%^&*()

"...And as soon as Tenel Ka is healed, we're going to launch our attack on the Sith," Jacen concluded, just after reaching the Infirmary. "I had Womprat pull up some schematics of the city and compile reports on Mandalorian movements. Eriana has made up a plan of attack. Womprat?"

A holographic projection appeared in front of the Jedi indicating Hapan forces in red and Mandalorain forces in green.

"I believe we will be best utilised if we break into two teams and…" Eriana started.

"Juzt a moment," Saba interrupted. "Az the ranking Jedi Mazter, I believe it iz my duty to co-ordinate the attack, and chooze a course action."

"Not exactly," Jacen said. "Rank aside, we are guests on this planet. The Jedi have no official jurisdiction and can only be invited into the other territories at the request of government officials to conduct 'Jedi business.' We must abide by their rules first, and, when a conflict does not exist, Jedi conduct second."

"I know that!" Saba said indignantly. "You do not need to lecture _this one_ on Jedi etiquette!"

"I'm just saying that, as Jedi, we need to respect the inviting party's wishes," Jacen replied. "Tenel Ka specifically asked _me_ to save Hapes before she fell unconscious. Now, unless she was delusional and thought I looked like a giant lizard, I believe she wanted _me _to co-ordinate the defence. Besides, what troop movement information do you have, and when did you get the chance to create an entire battle plan?"

Saba opened her mouth, but no words came out. She closed it for a moment, decided to take the diplomatic approach for the sake of setting an example for the apprentices, then said "Pleaze, continue."

Jacen sighed to himself. It saddened him to see the Jedi continually becoming more obsessed on the importance of rank rather than sensible action. "Eriana?"

"Thanks, Jacen. As I was about to say, there are four major units, each comprising of about fifty Mandos moving methodically around the city taking out the bunkers. I have projected their movements around the city and I have identified the following ambush points."

Eriana pressed a button on her datapad and some blue lines appeared around the city. "As you can see, the Mandalorian attack is well planned given the layout of Hapan defences. Unfortunately for us, the entire Hapan ground communication system is being jammed so we don't have any way of telling them what's coming. Our first goal will be to alert the Hapan defence units, and our second will be to redirect their efforts to a better plan. Our final objective is to assist in the removal of all Mandalorian ground forces using the suggested tactics Womprat uploaded to the datapads in front of you. If you can set any traps along the way with the thermal detonators or any other weapons you find, go for it."

"An excellent plan," Tenel Ka said, standing in the doorframe with a med robe on. She looked weak, but steady. Jacen offered her his seat, which she gratefully took with his assistance. "However, the militia will not believe you are there to help them. They know the Sith are attacking and may presume anyone with a lightsaber is trying to reduce their chances. There is still some lingering hatred towards the Jedi from Hapan tradition."

"We need Master Durron and his mind tricks," Tesar's apprentice, Morg Treal, snickered at his own brilliance. "That'd really get them moving."

"Kyp?" Jacen was genuinely confused. "He was never that good at them."

"Are you kidding?" Dot Polf, Saba's apprentice, asked in disbelief. "He's the best in the Order! He teaches the class!"

Jacen looked at Tesar, who merely shrugged. "Have you guys ever heard of the Fallanassi?"

"Back to real issues, Oh Fearless Leader," Eriana interrupted, unclipping a rancor tooth from her belt and offering it to Tenel Ka. "Queen Tenel Ka, it's good to see you up and around again."

"Thank you," Tenel Ka acknowledged, taking her lightsaber, "But I don't believe we have met."

"Eriana Fostenon, Exiled Jensaarai Defender, Jedi Knight in training," Eriana introduced herself. "And poor unfortunate soul who got suckered into following a wayward and eccentric..."

"She's with me," Jacen interrupted. "Now on the matter of saving this planet, how can we get the guards to listen to us?"

"_You_, don't," Tenel Ka said matter-of-factly. "Your droid does."

Tenel Ka explained her plan.

"Rhetorical query: Why does the assassin droid always become the messenger droid?"

"Because you can kill Sith Lords and get the message where it needs to go," Eriana answered. "Record the message, and get out there. Saba, take your team and start with the north section and work east. I'll take our team to the south and work west. Everyone clear on our objectives?"

A wave of nodding heads, a rather human-like mechanical groan, and the rapid vacating of seats answered Eriana's question.


	25. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

"You want us to _what_?"

"Release a swarm of your pulse-gravity mines," Leia repeated dully for the fifth time, finally to the commander of the Hapan fleet. "The Mandalorian torpedoes are attracted to gravity mass and will ignore your ships for the mines."

"You do realize that dropping that many mines means we can't hyperspace out," The commanded pointed out.

"You'd abandon your queen, you skiving nerf herder?" Han shouted at the comm.

Glaring at Han, Leia replied. "I don't think we have much choice. Either we defend Hapes, or the whole cluster falls."

Leia checked her chronometer. "You'd better launch those mines quick; by our calculations they will launch the next salvo in thirty seconds."

"Acknowledged."

"All right," Han said, pursuing yet another Mandalorian fighter and driving it towards the _Solo Quest_. Han had worked his way through the fleet towards the front where Jaina was to make better use of the unique attributes of the modified freighters. So far, only one Miy'til fighter had kept up with the Solo pair, one Jaina referred to as Alpha Seven. "Heads up kid, got another one for you."

"How about I take the two on your back?" Jaina replied as Seven shot the one Han was following. A moment later all three fighters were destroyed, and the trio formed up to re-evaluate the fight.

"All Hapan ships between Mandalorian and Hapan fronts, withdrawal behind capital ships." The Hapan command carrier broadcasted. "Repeat: All ships return to friendly space."

"That's our cue to go," Leia said, and Han directed his miniature squadron back towards the Hapans at full throttle.

"Heads up," Jaina commed. "Mandos launching another volley!"

A moment later, hundreds of pulse mines were launched towards the Mandalorians, and another thousand yellow blips appeared on sensors near the Mandalorian ships. Following a pre-programmed course, the mines took up station between the opposing capital ships and activated their gravity fields while the torpedoes streaked towards their targets.

"Let's hope this works," Han said to nobody in particular as the torpedoes approached the line of mines.

"Dad, break!" Jaina called, snapping Han out of his revere. Focussed on the sensor display following the torpedoes, he failed to notice the squadron of Mandalorians he had set a course through. The Mandalorians opened fire as the _Falcon_ slipped into a sharp dive and missed the battered freighter entirely. Karth and Nelani fired at the squadron, claiming a kill each before Jaina was forced to break off.

"Sev, how's it going?" Jaina asked.

"Winged one, took a few shots myself, but doing good. Got a couple on my tail, but no biggie."

"Head three-oh-five mark two; I'll clear your tail," Jaina replied, swinging the _Quest _around to line her gunners on target.

"Negative, _Quest_," Leia said. "Mando bombers are breaking off. They're attacking Hapes. Form up, we're going after them."

Sure enough, all the Mandalorian blips on radar among the Hapans appeared to be setting course for the planet below. A second glance at her display showed the Hapan mine line had worked. Half the mines were destroyed, and more were filling in their places. Finally without having to attack the torpedoes, the Hapan ships were able to redouble their attacks on the Mandalorian capital ships with their turbolasers and drive them back outside of effective range. A stalemate had finally been reached.

"Acknowledged," Jaina replied. "Let's go."

-! #$%^&*()

"I hate these things," Jacen examined the Mandalorian commander marching through the street using the scope of his new matte black Hapan sniper rifle. Tenel Ka had armed the Jedi with several more explosives, weapons, and sub-vocal comlinks before they left the palace.

"Indeed. It seems rather distasteful, striking down an enemy from afar without a fair fight," Tenel Ka agreed, tugging on her chest armour plate to make it sit better. She was wearing a shiny new set of Rancor skin armour and was still making adjustments so it fit properly. Jacen could sense her fatigue from emerging from the bacta tank early, but knew her resolve was strong as ever. She would not fail her people.

"True, but not what I meant," Jacen said. "It's hard to take prisoners that get incinerated."

"You never seemed to mind thermal detonators before," Eriana commented from behind her own rifle on a building across the street from Jacen and Tenel Ka.

"Yeah, Wraith Squadron 101: Big pretty explosions always make great distractions," Jacen said. "Good sniper rifles are meant to be almost impossible to detect. And how would you like to be walking down the street looking at a new dress then all of a sudden _bang_! You're gone."

"I suppose I really wouldn't be alive to care."

"Speaking of not alive," Jacen said grimly, "Shall we get this over with?"

"Might as well," Eriana said with equal grim. "Captain Stute, are your troops ready?"

"As we'll ever be," The Hapan captain replied. "I guess we'll owe you Jedi one after this."

"Just stay loyal to Tenel Ka and we'll call it even," Jacen replied. Switching to secondary encrypted communication frequencies allowed ground communication on Hapes to continue without the jamming interference. Womprat's mission was to deliver a recorded message of Tenel Ka detailing their plan, and to tell the troops to switch radio frequencies and use the encryption protocols he had developed to work against the jamming. Jacen's team met up with the first group Womprat had visited while Astro had gone along with Womprat to help in arriving at his destinations safely.

"You got it," Stute replied. "Just tell us when to start blasting those Mandos."

"Wait until the first 'detonator goes off," Eriana ordered. "Then attack like there's no tomorrow. Remember, aim for the joints in the armour."

"Understood,"

Jacen tried to ignore the painfully slow seconds that passed as the troops continued to march on. They had so far remained oblivious to the silver spheres trailing behind them. Rather than throwing the detonators in and risking some form of interdiction, the Jedi opted to sneak the explosives in among the Mandalorians with the Force and activate them at the opportune time.

"Okay, good enough," Eriana said when the last of the Mandalorians passed the point where the last of the Hapans were hiding. "Tenel Ka, bring 'em in and light 'em up."

Time slowed for Jacen. His mind continued at normal pace, but everything else moved at a fraction of the speed his mind did. From where he was he could see the shell of exploding detonators shatter from the heat and the deadly fireballs slowly expand. He could see the flames reach the nearest troops and begin to melt the weak spots of the armour. Mandalorian iron could withstand the blast of a thermal detonator, but the joints on the lower ranking troops did not enjoy such protection. The commander was slowly incinerated inside his own armour by a well-placed pair of blaster bolts from a sniper rifle on either side of the street. Time gradually sped up, and more troopers fell in slow motion from the onslaught of paired sniper blasts, the removal of their joints from the explosives, or from the blaster fire shot by Hapan troops that appeared behind the Mandalorians.

Once time resumed its normal pace, Jacen stood up and reloaded his rifle while surveying the scene below. The Hapans moved in and, under Eriana's orders, began to administer first aid to the Mandalorians that were still alive.

"Looks like we got them all," Eriana commented, looking at Jacen from across the street. "No losses on our side."

"Did I ever mention how much I hate this?" Jacen asked in disgust, collecting his supplies. "We should get going. We have another squad to stop."

-! #$%^&*()

Finally separated from the battle, Jaina was able to take stock of the toll the battle had on both sides. She estimated two hundred Mandalorian fighters were being followed by almost half as many Hapan fighters. With the Hapan bombers still in orbit, Jaina weighted the fleets at just about even, though she knew the upcoming skirmish was likely to be costly.

"Looks like they're planning a bombing run on the fighter production facilities on the other side of the ocean. Don't forget we have limited shields in atmosphere," The Hapan commander commented. "Defensive turrets are active, but we're their only real hope. There are a lot of civvies in that area so watch your fire and shoot down as many as you can over the water. For the Queen!"

"For the Queen!"

The Hapan ships raced forward on afterburners, and launched a volley of missiles at the Mandalorians.

"Um, what he said!" Han said on a private frequency to Jaina and Seven, and launched a pair of missiles himself.

Jaina rolled her eyes and started picking targets. Ship sensors showed fifty kilometres to the production facilities and they were closing at about a thousand clicks per hour.

"Three minutes to target," Jaina calculated. She launched a pair of torpedoes when a button on the controls she had not noticed before labelled Beam Weapon caught her eye. Curiously, she targeted another ship and hit the button. For a moment nothing happened then the enemy ship lurched and collided with two other fighters.

"Nice!" Jaina exclaimed.

"What was that?" Seven inquired.

"No idea!" Jaina replied. "But it worked! Heads up, fighters almost in laser range."

The Hapan ships launched another wave of missiles and started firing lasers. In response, the Mandalorian fighters started firing at the Hapans.

"How are they shooting at us?" Han exclaimed as a Hapan ship exploded nearby.

"Looks like their laser systems rotate," The Hapan commander announced. "Watch out, this is gonna get rough!"

The Hapan ground turrets started firing at the Mandalorians, but the fighters could gain no ground while pinned down by the rear-facing guns.

"Dad, I have an idea," Jaina called. "Follow me."

She sent the _Solo Quest _into a forty-five degree dive and accelerated as fast as she could. When she was a kilometre below the Mandalorian line, she pulled level, continued accelerating, and flipped the YT-2400 on its side.

"Brilliant!" Han exclaimed, following suit. Both Corellian ships fired their turrets straight up at the Mandalorians, skewering them from where the turrets could not rotate to aim at. Several fighters dropped bombs at the freighters, but the narrow profile of the ships and the battle-honed reflexes of the pilots made them extremely difficult targets to hit.

"Not going to be enough," Jaina saw land quickly approaching ahead. "Twenty seconds to target, and over a hundred and fifty ships left!"

"Break!" Han ordered, and decelerated. "We don't want to be under here when those bombs drop!"

"We can't just leave them!" Jaina shouted, jamming her hand against the already maxed out throttle.

Five seconds later, the Mandalorians dropped their bombs, and disappeared. Apparently the cloaks worked in atmosphere, too.

"Uh, oh," Jaina watched the bombs fall towards her, realizing she could not dodge that many bombs.

-! #$%^&*()

Luke and the kids ran as fast as they could towards the _Jade Shadow_ as it raced towards them. Kyp aligned his squadron in a defensive perimeter trying to hold back the Sith ground forces with little success. After what seemed like an eternity, the _Jade Shadow_ finally hovered over Luke and the kids. Mara and Cilghal appeared at the boarding ramp, urging Luke to get aboard. Together they began to levitate the kids into the ship.

"Luke, you have incoming!" Kyp announced.

Luke barely had time to activate his lightsaber and half the Sith flying through the air at him. Mara caught the child Luke was levitating and continued to pull the kids up. With two children remaining on the ground, Luke saw a dozen Sith racing towards them across the courtyard and some Mandalorians setting up portable anti-aircraft turrets behind them. Shield systems were already up, preventing Kyp or Lowbacca from destroying the turrets with laser canons. Suddenly, Luke recalled his vision. The Order leaving Ossus could be what he thought was the Order falling apart…perhaps it meant he had to stand alone against a dark enemy to _save_ the Order. He made up his mind. His friends and family could not escape without a distraction.

_It was my Order to build_, he reflected, _and it is my Order to _save.

Luke looked up to Mara, caressing her presence in the Force.

"Evacuate, _now_!" he yelled into his comlink and charged off to face the Sith, lightsaber ablaze.


	26. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

The ground battles on Hapes ended shortly after the Jedi joined the fight. Saba's team was at the Palace infirmary when Eriana's team arrived. Morg Treal was delusional and missing an arm, which was likely the one that Tesar was carrying. Dot Polf had a blaster bolt through her right leg and was wailing loudly as a maddeningly patient 2-1B attended her. Both reptilian Jedi were uninjured.

"Done?" Eriana asked.

"Done," Saba replied sadly. "All the Mandoz on Hapes are dead, dying, or captive."

"I still don't get why they used such a small occupying force," Jacen mused. "Why try to take one city? It wouldn't take long to get reinforcements from neighbouring cities, and even two hundred Mandalorians couldn't hold a city like this for long."

"The entire cluster follows this city," Tenel Ka said. "Political changes here are followed by the entire Consortium. It is simply how Hapes operates. They depended on the Sith removing me and taking control. The ground assault was only meant to keep the militia busy long enough for the Sith to complete their task."

"Might want to beef up your defences then," Eriana commented, "And hardwire some communication systems. Wireless is great, but limited."

"This is a fact."

"How're your apprentices?" Jacen asked Saba. Tesar was still talking to a medical droid, hissing himself silly with laughter. Barabels, who could regenerate their limbs, found it amusing that humans could not.

"Recklessss," Saba looked as dejected as she sounded, a considerable feat for a being with scales. "Dot jumped into a blazter bolt when she tried leaving the bunker, and Morg forgot to charge his lightzaber. Three secondz into the fight, the blade diez, and the Mando cutz hiz arm off! Luckily, the Hapanz saved him. Your people are very skilled with a blade, Queen Tenel Ka."

Tenel Ka nodded her thanks. "Any news of the space battle?"

"Stalemate," Saba said. "The Hapanz are holding the Sith off, but the Sith will not tuck their tailz and leave."

"Reinforcements may be en-route. Fleet losses?"

"Three battle dragonz, a nova classss, and about one hundred fighterz. Nearly a third of the shipz are out of the battle with damage," Saba said. "The Mandalorians lost two mid-sized cruiserz, and about fifty fighterz. Again, a third is not fighting. A Hapan fighter shipyard on the coast was also badly hit a few moments ago. Almost half a million casualties. All civilians."

Jacen winced at the news, and took a moment to compose himself. Tenel Ka's face turned white and she sat down on a nearby crate.

"So it'll be a matter of whose reinforcements arrive first. And with ours six hours out, we could be in big trouble." Jacen said. "Has anyone seen Womprat?"

"No."

"He'll turn up," Jacen said pulling a data card from his sleeve. "Tenel Ka, can we try to find Jaina on my ship? I have the codes here."

"This way," Tenel Ka got up and started her way out of the room.

"Eriana, stay here," Jacen ordered. "If Womprat shows up, get that chip out of him. You know the one. I don't want him running around with it. Use the Force if you have to."

Jacen jogged out of the Infirmary to catch up with Tenel Ka and was nearly tackled with a bear hug when he turned the corner.

"I missed you," Tenel Ka whispered in his ear.

"I missed you, too." Jacen responded, squeezing her a bit tighter. His journey had been a long, lonely one, not only for himself but for his close friends as well. He held her close for another minute, enjoying the warmth and presence of his friend before finally letting go.

"We should find out what's going on above," Jacen said, regretfully.

"It would be the responsible thing to do," Tenel Ka agreed. _Why does it take a war to bring you back to me?_

"Yeah," Jacen continued to stare into her eyes until a bark startled them. Astro was at their feet lying on his back expecting his belly rubbed, and was getting impatient.

"Oh my!" Tenel Ka exclaimed, hand moving towards her lightsaber. "Jacen, is that a Vornskr?"

"Yeah, that's Astro." Jacen crouched down and scratched the Vornskr's side. "Fiercest beast this side of the Core."

"Don't they hunt Jedi?" Tenel Ka asked wearily.

"Normally, but Astro's smarter than the average Vornskr," Jacen explained. "I've trained him in a few Force-based acrobatics and combat techniques. I kind of had to enhance his intelligence by imposing more human-like thought patterns into his brain to do that, but the end result of my tampering is that he can control his urges to eat anything Force sensitive. And he is a great conversationalist."

Astro whined in response to either the comment or the scratching.

"Ah," Tenel Ka said. "I did not realize you were restarting your menagerie."

"Oh, no, I'm not," Jacen responded. "No more crystal snakes for me. Astro's more of a friend than a pet. We should get going."

"Indeed."

The two Jedi made their way to the comm room with Astro happily following, leading, or running around them frantically for no apparent reason. When they reached the comm room, Astro made to walk through the door, but there was no automatic sensor installed. After his head hit the door with a loud "thunk," Astro sat and stared at it with a confused expression.

"Sometimes," Jacen said conversationally, "I swear he thinks he's human."

Tenel Ka pressed a button on the door and Jacen went into the room and sat at a console. After a few moments his sister's face appeared on a holodisplay.

"Jaina, how's my ship doing up there?" Jacen asked once the comm channel was opened.

"I'm doing great, thanks for your concern," Jaina replied. "Oh, and I blew your ship up. Sorry."

"Cute," Jacen said. The encryption routine he used was hardwired into the _Solo Quest_'s memory core and not removable. It was highly unlikely that any other ship could answer his hails. "I take it all is well?"

"As well as can be expected," Jaina replied. "The Mandos have pulled back and seem to be regrouping. We're doing the same, conducting emergency repairs and trying to get everything working again. In terms of the _Quest_, a couple power couplings in the shield system blew when the Mandos blew the shipyard and I kinda got in the way, so Karth and I are taking care of that. Also, the starboard torpedo launcher is damaged. I can fix it, though. Dad's doing his usual on-the-fly repairs with Mom flying, and the rest of the fleet is doing what they can. Some of the surviving crewmembers and parts from the crippled ships are being transported to other ships. Any news on the Republic?"

Jacen checked his chronometer. "By Uncle Luke's estimate, they should be arriving in about six hours, as well as a flight of Jedi starfighters. He didn't say how many. Some defences had to stay behind to protect Ossus should the Sith decide to attack."

"Wonderful," Jaina said bitterly.

"Exactly," Jacen responded. "Hate to say it, but Hapes was a rich target from the start. Manufacturing facilities, culture, and limited defences."

Something struck Jacen's mind.

"Tenel Ka, that's not the entire Hapan fleet up there, is it?"

"Indeed not. The rest of the fleet is defending the other sixty-two planets. Hapes receives the largest fleet, but the other planets are granted a fleet detail as well," Upon seeing Jacen's grin, she cautiously added: "A detail they will not easily give up with a Mandalorian fleet around Hapes."

"How many ships are we talking about?" Jaina asked.

"During the Yuuzhan Vong war, we increased ship production for defence purposes," Tenel Ka explained. "We now have at least three Nova-Class destroyers, and three Battle Dragons at each planet, plus support craft."

" 'At least' you say." Jaina said. "That means there are planets with more than that?"

"Affirmative," Tenel Ka said, a warrior's grin growing on her face.

"Jaina, get down here," Jacen returned her smile. "The Queen needs a chariot to gather her fleet."

-! #$%^&*()

"Luke!" Mara jumped without thinking, igniting her lightsaber before hitting the ground. Cilghal pulled the last two children into the _Jade Shadow_, and Lowbacca accelerated skyward. Kyp's squadron formed up in a defensive escort pattern around the _Shadow_.

Mara sprinted after Luke, who was already at the far end of the courtyard reducing the AA guns to scrap. One was made operational, and an X-wing was shot down before Luke could reach it. Mara met the Sith in a blur of motion and used her fury to strike at the Sith. Blue lightsaber and lightning reduced a handful of Sith to a smoking pile of bodies in seconds, and Mara continued her sprint towards Luke.

"I told you to go!" Luke yelled at Mara when she finally reached him.

"And leave you behind?" Mara yelled back. "Not on your life, Farmboy!"

"There's only one seat in the X-wing!" Luke shouted.

"Good thing we're married!"

They continued to strike down the Sith as a perfect fighting force. Two blades, two bodies, two minds, all one within the Force, and unstoppable. Until they stopped. It was just not the end of the Sith waves that ceased the perfect dance Luke and Mara were fighting. It was the end of the Force.

"Master Skywalker, I presume," An insidious voice came from nearby. It sounded Weequay. "What an honour it is to meet the son of the Chosen One!"

"Who?" Luke asked, facing a man wearing a dark cloak. His thoughts were elsewhere. _What happened to the Force?_

"Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One," The Weequay said. "The one who would 'bring balance' to the Force. You are his son, are you not? By the way, how is the Force?"

Luke continued to stare at the Sith Lord with lightsaber ablaze as the lower-ranked Sith made a circle around the two Jedi. "Its fine, last time I checked. Who are you?"

"Even with my little friend here?" An ysalamiri appeared in the man's hand, and Luke got the distinct impression he was smiling under his cloak. "I am the one who will bring an end to your reign, young Skywalker. Your end is near."

"I've heard those words before, from greater beings than you," Luke replied.

"Oh, no, young Skywalker. I assure you: You haven't."

Two blaster shots rang out and both Skywalkers hit the ground.

The Weequay twisted the ysalamiri's head, breaking its neck. He took a moment to enjoy feeling the Force flow through him again. "Collect the bodies. We have work to do."

-! #$%^&*()

The _Jade Shadow_ and Kyp's squadron broke the atmosphere near the edge of the Mandalorian fleet. Turbolaser and laser cannon blasts wove intricate patterns of light around the escaping ships which were expertly dodged by the Jedi pilots. Being several kilometres away from the ships, it was difficult for the Mandalorians to target accurately.

"Lowie, head towards Mim," Kyp ordered. "We can use the moon to shelter us from the fleet as we make our escape to hyperspace."

Lowie grunted an acknowledgement and redirected the ship.

"Master, we have incoming," One of the Jedi in Kyp's squadron said. "One squadron of Mando fighters with a couple more behind them.

"Do we have any intel on the ships they're using?" Kyp asked.

[Negative,] Lowie barked. [But they are faster than us! Scans show missile signatures and light defences. Interceptor analogues. They will be in firing range in two minutes.]

"Understood," Kyp debated in his head for a moment before issuing orders. "Lowie, you're slower than us. Make a run for it. We'll take out the interceptors and regroup. We'll meet you on Coruscant."

Lowie barked his agreement and redirected forward shield power to engines as Kyp's squadron broke off. He started making the calculations for the jump to hyperspace, trusting the ship to its straight course.

"Okay, squad, we'll do this like the Rogues," Kyp said to his squadron. "Everyone pick a target and prime your warheads. Fire in three…two…one…mark!"

A dozen torpedoes and three times as many decoys raced towards the offending Mandalorians, who started firing immediately. Half of the torpedoes were destroyed before they hit their targets and the other half shredded six of the opponents. Kyp's squadron blew through the enemy formation and pulled around in a tight arc to fire at their engines. Before the Jedi could fire, the Mandalorians launched a volley of missiles towards the _Jade Shadow _and broke formation_._

"Lowie, you have missiles incoming!" Kyp shouted, breaking off to follow a target. His squadron did likewise with an empathic order.

Out of the corner of Kyp's eye he saw the _Shadow _bank sharply and take several missile strikes. In the moment he took to lock his target and destroy it, the _Jade Shadow _disappeared in a fireball of exploding concussion missiles.

"Master Durron!" One of the Jedi exclaimed. "Half the Council was on that ship! Masters Luke, Tionne, Lowie, Cilghal, Tresina…"

"I know!" Kyp replied, checking his screens. An entire wing of starfighters was closing on their position and only one retreating interceptor remained from the original squad. Thankfully, no Jedi starfighters had been lost since Kam's was shot down on Ossus. "I know. Form up; we have to get to Coruscant. There's nothing left for us here."


	27. Epilogue

Note: I posted Chapter 25 and the Epilogue at the same time. Please make sure you read 25 first!

* * *

Epilogue

_It's odd how much company one can find when they are alone_.

Sitting beside a lake in one of the forests of Gallinore, Jacen shooed yet another insect away from his face and reflected on the past few days. He had rented a small cottage on a lake in the middle of nowhere after the Mandalorian fleet had been evicted from the system. The cottage was inaccessible by any means other than an old-fashioned wheeled vehicle. It was not that a space ship would be unable to hover by the lake or find a small clearing to visit the area, but doing so was forbidden. The owners of these properties enjoyed the simplicity of life that could only be found in the middle of a forest. Luxuries such as filtered water, shopping centres, and even bug repellents were not to be found in the immediate area.

And that suited Jacen just fine.

Of course, the small cottage he rented had a small power generator as there were various basic concerns such as food storage, cooking, and lighting that needed to be addressed, but the amenities only extended that far. No holonet, no communication system, no computer system…just the sights and sounds of nature to entertain one's mind.

He had arrived late in the night the day before and immediately got some rest. Actual rest, not the Jedi trances or refreshing techniques he had been using for years to stave off fatigue. The next morning he felt refreshed as he had not felt in a long time and started the morning off with a quick meal. He packed a mid-day meal before heading out to explore the area. First he walked to the lake immediately outside the front of his cottage and sat on the ground, listening to the haunting bird cries from within the early morning fog hovering just over the surface of the lake. He continued to sit there after the fog had dissipated, absorbing the morning light of Hapes' primary star as it shone off the glassy-smooth surface of the lake and warmed his face. Occasionally a marine creature would break the surface to catch one of the bugs hovering above the lake, sending circular ripples outwards that reflected the sunlight oddly until slowly disappearing. Once the bugs decided they were better off trying to take bites out of a human rather than being eaten by a fish and migrated towards Jacen, he got up and started walking into the surrounding woods.

Not far along a path did Jacen find a neighbouring cottage as empty as his own now stood. He continued past, and followed the dirt road away from the empty building. As he walked along, several times he would find himself surrounded by a swarm of bugs. He tried various things to escape the bugs, but found a short sprint worked best, although the bugs were soon replaced with new bugs hungry for blood.

He did not just feed the local miniature militia as he walked through the winding path in the forest. Jacen startled several animals that either ran or flew off upon hearing his boots crunch the stones that made up the roadway, and was even followed by a curious wild canine that eventually decided he was too big for a meal. He climbed rocks and trees, stared at the vast blue sky, closed his eyes to listen to the sounds around him, and even freed a bird that had trapped its foot in a section of rough bark.

But most importantly, he had not used the Force once since arriving on Gallinore.

_Finally_, he had thought to himself. _A vacation_.

He was not embarrassed by his actions, nor did he feel guilty for using the Force during the past few days. His hiatus was not a protest against using the Force due to philosophical reasoning as he had in the past. He just decided it was time for a break. His constant training and use of the Force for so long made it feel too much like work, and sometimes it was good to just _not_ be a Jedi. Or a Force user. Or whatever he was considered to be these days. He needed a break from _himself _to be just_ himself_. Vergere had taught him the importance of that.

Eventually he found himself on a beaten foot path that led him to another nearby lake. A soft but steady breeze blew across the lake, which was just enough to keep the majority of the bugs off him while he had his midday meal on a large rock that protruded slightly into the lake from the shoreline. He stared out from his picnic rock at the vivid green trees and the rich blue lake, absorbing the beauty of the landscape, while shooing away the odd bug as the breeze died down.

"You are a difficult person to find, Jedi Solo," A voice came from behind Jacen.

_So much for being alone,_ Jacen sighed to himself. "I was going for difficult."

"Indeed," The intruder stepped forward. "However, even when you do not use the Force, you still shine brightly in it."

"Maybe you just have a knack for finding me," Jacen offered.

"I should hope so, my friend," Tenel Ka said, stepping onto his rock. "May I join you?"

"That depends," Jacen replied. "Did you bring any more food? The fresh air is making me hungry."

A backpack floated towards Jacen, which he plucked from mid air to examine the contents. "Your admission fees have been accepted. Please, sit."

Tenel Ka sat beside him and they ate in silence while staring out over the lake. After a few minutes, Jacen broke the silence.

"How did you find me?"

"It was not difficult," Tenel Ka answered. "Eriana booked passage to Hapes from Gallinore, and you did use the credit chip I gave you."

"Ah," Jacen fell silent for a moment, picking a distant tree to examine. "What brings you out here?"

Tenel Ka squirmed uncomfortably for a moment before launching into a briefing about the capture of the Sith ships that were left behind when the fleet retreated upon seeing the fleet he helped rally from the rest of the Hapes Cluster.

"Woah, wait," Jacen stopped her. "You came all the way from Hapes into the middle of nowhere on Gallinore just to tell me what I pretty much know, when you have a hundred thousand other things you should be doing? I don't buy it."

It was Tenel Ka's turn to be silent and examine a rock. "I wish to ask something of you, Jacen Solo."

Jacen smiled, took her hand, and looked into her eyes. "For you, anything."

Tenel Ka smiled back, squeezing his hand. "Jacen, Hapes needs a king."

"Anything but that!" Jacen exclaimed. Her eyes quickly widened with shock. Jacen quickly put his foot in his mouth. "Tenel Ka, I don't mean it like that. Honestly, I…it…It isn't something I haven't considered. But now is just not a good time."

"When else is a good time?" Tenel Ka demanded. "Jacen, we are not getting younger and Hapes needs strong leadership. You have proven that you can be that leader! There is always some war, something taking you away from me. I love you, Jacen. Do you not love me?"

"Of course I do!" Jacen said, slightly offended. "How can you question that?"

Tenel Ka raised her eyebrow. "How can I know how you have changed in these last five years?"

"Good point," Jacen conceited. "But I did come back to save your life. You can't beat that for a comeback!"

Both of them laughed at the absurdity of his comment. When their laughs subsided, Jacen put his arm around her and pulled her close.

"I'll be your king, Tenel Ka," Jacen promised. "But not until after the Sith threat is removed. The Jedi still need me."

"More than Hapes does?" Tenel Ka asked. "More than _I_ do?"

"You already know the answer to that," Jacen said firmly. He would not budge; not when the safety of everyone he cared for was at stake. "Tenel Ka, trust me when I say the Jedi cannot handle these Sith alone. You saw how they fight: few Jedi can keep up with that. And the entire Order is a house of Sabbacc cards waiting for the Sith to blow it down. Not to mention the GA is nothing more than a weak foundation of a government struggling to get its feet under itself. Master Luke will need guidance on reconstructing the Order, and I have put a lot of thought into it. Of course, I don't have all the answers, but I have some."

Tenel Ka stood up, took a few steps away, and leaned against a tree. After a moment of silence she spoke. "Jacen, there is something I did not tell you."

"What's that?" Jacen asked, but a great feeling of dread filled his heart. Suddenly, he knew the awful truth.

"The Jedi Academy on Ossus was attacked," Tenel Ka said sadly. "The attack on Hapes was a diversion to lure Jedi away from there. There has been no contact from Ossus since the ground assault started. The fleet in orbit was lost in a surprise attack, with no survivors. Except for a dozen Jedi who escaped in X-wings, all hands were lost including the younglings, most of the Jedi Council, and both Master Skywalkers."

She turned and looked at him with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Jacen, the Jedi Order has fallen."

To be continued…

* * *

Author's Note:

Hi everyone, thanks for reading the first component of this trilogy. The next part, _Face of the Enemy_ will have its first chapter posted on May 2nd. It is largely done, I just need to read it over and finalize any details. I hope you enjoyed this first component and I assure you, this story has only just begun.


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